09-05-2025
Pitt Panthers Dominate Stan Romanoski Open Behind Norrah Lemongo, Je'Nyia Burton
Pittsburgh Panthers sprinters, throwers, and jumpers competed in their last meet before the ACC Championships last week.
The Panthers made a short trip down the road to West Virginia University last weekend for the 14-team Stan Romanoski Open. In their last action before the ACC Championships, Pitt continued what has been a strong outdoor season.
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As a team, the Panthers took victories in 12 events. They had an additional 13 performers take a top-6 place on both the men and women's side.
Pitt Women
Pittsburgh Panthers sophomore thrower Norrah Lemongo. Credit:
• 13 top-6 placements
• 7 1st place finishes
Indoor 400m ACC champion and All-American Je'Nyia Burton is finishing the outdoor campaign strong. Burton, a senior, won the 400 meters with a time of 53.62, winning the event by nearly two seconds.
Sophomore thrower Norrah Lemongo continued an outstanding year, winning two events and taking a third place in a third. Lemongo won the shot put with 16.11 meters, taking it by nearly two meters. An even more impressive toss of 54.27 meters gave her the victory in the Hammer by an incredible 16 meters.
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Lemongo also earned a third in the discus with a season-best distance of 42.02 meters. Pitt teammates Niya Crawford, a junior, and freshman Madisyn Hawkins were the only ones who bettered Lemongo in the discus, earning a 1-2-3 Panthers sweep.
Pittsburgh Panthers sprinter Je'Nyia Burton. Credit: Instagram
Crawford's 44.31 meters won the discus, while Hawkins grabbed second with 44.07 meters. Crawford also finished second in the shot put at 14.08 meters, with only Lemongo besting her.
Sophomore Taylor Forbes was a double-winner in the long jump and triple jump. A leap of 11.64 meters won her the triple jump, while her season-best of 5.57 meters took the long jump. Fellow sophomore Maddie Lewis finished third in the long jump with her season-best of 5.39 meters.
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Back on the track, junior Jana Bruses won the women's 100 hurdles in 14.21 seconds. Freshman Faith Dennis raced to second place finishes in both the 100 meters with 12.13 seconds and 200 meters with 24.93.
Pitt Men
Pitt Panthers sprinter Malik Ricketts. Credit: Instagram
• 12 top-6 placements
• 5 1st place finishes
Some of Pittsburgh's top sprinters took this meet off to prepare for the ACC Championships. Pitt's depth stepped up for their best performances of the year.
Senior Malik Ricketts won the 400 meters in 46.82 seconds. Sophomore Antwan James ran 14.61 seconds to take a victory in the 110 hurdles. Freshman Emanuel Gayanilo came out of nowhere to win the 400 hurdles with 57.65 seconds. Fellow freshman James Long managed a second place with his 21.36 seconds in the men's 200.
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Off the track, junior Sacha Quequin grabbed his first win of the outdoor season with a 7.12 meter leap in the long jump. Senior Daniel Amaya powered his way to a victory in the hammer throw with a dominant distance of 61.24 meters, winning the event by more than 11 meters.
Credit: @Pitt_TF_XC on Instagram
Panthers throwers were only slightly outdone by their female counterparts. Six Pitt men, counting Amaya, powered their way to top-6 finishes in four events.
Freshman Emeka Ugwu grabbed second in the shot put with 16.03 meters and third in the discus with 45.33 meters. Junior Ryan Cook was another double place with second in the discus at 45.69 meters, a season-high, and 15.57 meters in the shot put for third place. Junior Samuel Guzman tossed his way to a third place with 53.17 meters in the javelin.
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Next week's ACC Championships will be held at Wake Forest University. Qualifiers for the conference championship will begin competing on Thursday, May 15, with events wrapping up on Saturday, May 17.
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