Stona Sets School Record on Final Day of Penn Relays

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — The 126th iteration of the Penn Relays concluded on Saturday as several Tigers earned the opportunity to compete for championships to close out what was an extremely impressive weekend for Clemson’s track and field program. Most notably, Rojé Stona broke his own school record in the discus throw and set the new mark at 65.11 meters.

Stona’s record-breaking throw comes the day after the men’s 4×200 meter relay group took home the wagon wheel in the event, finishing the race in 2:22.91 to win it. Many Tigers set solid marks and finished near the top of their events in what was an incredibly strong overall weekend for Program Director Mark Elliott’s squad.

“It was another good day for both teams,” remarked Elliott. The efforts were there and Rojé had another big throw today. Both teams are shaping up well for the ACC’s.”

The Tigers have one more weekend to gear up for ACC Championships in Durham, N.C. from May 12-14. Some will spend that weekend in Knoxville, Tenn. for the Tennessee Challenge on May 7 as the final tune-up of the regular season.

SATURDAY HIGHLIGHTS

• Rojé Stona’s school-record breaking throw in the discus was his second in 15 days, besting his previous mark of 64.98 meters and setting an even higher standard for himself.
• The women’s 4×100 meter relay team consisting of Serena Clark, Kiara Grant, Ockera Myrie and Antoinette Van der Merwe finished second with a time of 44.27 seconds.
• Devon Brooks claimed bronze in the 110 meter hurdles with a 13.62 second time, edging out his teammate in Giano Roberts who finished in 13.83 seconds, good for sixth-best.
• Harleigh White earned second-place in the women’s triple jump with a 12.98 meter leap. She has finished in the top-3 in the event thrice in the month of April.

FRIDAY HIGHLIGHTS

• The men’s 4×200 relay won a fabled wagon wheel at the Penn Relays for their performance in the event. 1:22.91 was best and enough to bring home the hardware.
• The women’s 4×100 meter relay of Ockera Myrie, Kiara Grant, Trishauna Hemmings and Serena Clark finished second with a time of 43.87 seconds. That was best in their heat, and they finished second-place in Saturday’s finals.
• The men’s 4×100 team of Giano Roberts, Cameron Rose, Guinove Joanus and Dashinelle Dyer advanced to Saturday’s finals  with a time of 39.83 seconds. In that race, they finished fifth with a time of 40.15 seconds.
• The men’s 4×400 meter relay of Cameron Rose, Tarees Rhoden, Wanya McCoy and Aman Thornton posted a 3:09.92 mark, which won their heat.
• The women’s 4×400 relay of Kenya Thompson, KK Gadson, Areya Campbell and Courtney Williams made their way into Saturday’s finals with a time of 3:40.47, good for ninth-best of the day. They finished sixth in the finals with a time of 3:36.90.
• Trishauna Hemmings posted a 13.41 second 100 meter hurdles time, winning her heat and giving her the chance to compete for a championship. She finished eighth on Saturday.
• All three of Devon Brooks, Lafranz Campbell and Giano Roberts posted a strong enough marks to participate in Saturday’s 110 meter hurdles finals. Brooks finished third in the finals, while Roberts earned sixth-place.
• Fabian Hewitt earned the right to compete in the 100 meter dash finals tomorrow when he ran a 10.44 second time in Friday’s prelims. He finished ninth in the finals on Saturday.
• DJ Ledell finished sixth the men’s long jump with a 7.07 meter leap.
• Caroline Johnston earned third place in the long jump, launching 5.89 meters.

THURSDAY HIGHLIGHTS

• Marie Forbes threw an impressive 61.84 meter hammer throw, placing her fourth in the women’s championship for the event. Forbes holds the No. 3 spot on Clemson’s all-time list for the hammer throw with a mark of 63.22 meters.
• Josie Wirtz set a PR and moved into Clemson’s all-time top-10 list in the 5000 meter run with her time of 16:40.29. That mark was good for third best in her heat.
• Mackenzie Osher set a PR in the women’s 400 meter hurdles with a time of 1:01.40.
• Jevon Williams and Darryl Burton finished fourth and sixth the men’s 600 meter hurdles, and Burton came out on top of his heat, finishing the race in 52.18 seconds. That time is a PR for Burton.
• Daniel Cope won bronze in the men’s hammer throw with a 61.33 meter mark.
• Jackson Leech set a PR in the 5k with a time of 14:24.95.