Rybalko stars at Penn Relays

PHILADELPHIA – The University of Maine’s Viktoriya Rybalko earned a second-place overall finish in the long jump with a leap of 21 feet, 63/4 inches, good for one of the top five performances in the history of the 109th Penn Relays at Franklin Field Friday.

Two-time NCAA champion Elva Goulbourne of Auburn jumped 21-10, a meet record. Rybalko’s mark was good enough to qualify for the NCAA Regional Championships at George Mason University.

Other members of the UMaine track and field teams also made a strong showing at the Penn Relays.

Competing in the finals of the college eastern division Thursday, the Bears’ Claire Poliquin placed fifth with a 5-foot-53/4 performance in the high jump. Katie Page took 11th in the shot put with a throw of 42-8, and Suzanne Hussey finished 31st in the 3,000 in 10:15.99.

The 4×100 relay team of Stephanie McCusker, Rybalko, Page, and Sylvia Scaldaferri didn’t advance to the final, but placed fourth in their heat with a time of 49.42, while the 4x400m team of Amada Virgets, Scaldaferri, Kristen Vidlak, and Heather Jovanelli finished fifth in their heat with a 4:03.40.

On Friday, the women’s 4x200m relay team of Katie Souviney, Scaldaferri, Rybalko and McCusker finished seventh in its heat with a 1:44.51, while the men’s 4×100 team of Dave Cusano, William Hunter, Robert Liguori, and Nate Holmes clocked a 43.53, good for sixth in its heat. The same crew earned ninth in its 4×200 heat, while the 4×400 team of Joel Evans, Derek Semple, Ryan Harkleroad, and Ken Bettis won its heat in 3:18.26.

The women’s 4×800 team of Jovanelli, Janeen Shepard, Hussey, and Vidlak finished sixth in its heat of the Championship of America Relay in 9:03.38, while the men’s team of Andy Caron, Harkleroad, Paul Rupprecht, and Bettis finished second in its heat with a 7:37.93.