LHU’s Moyer does it again, runs away with PSAC steeplechase title
SHIPPENSBURG, PA – For the second day in a row, standout distance runner Laurel Moyer (Lock Haven, Pa./Central Mountain) led the way for the Lock Haven University women’s outdoor track & field team at the 2021 Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Championships. The Bald Eagle on Friday ran away from the field on the way to victory in the 3,000-meter steeplechase to win her second individual PSAC title in as many days.
Thursday – on the opening day of the PSAC Championships – Moyer cruised to victory in the 10,000-meter run. Friday evening, she broke away from the field midway through the race and ran away with the steeplechase title in just her second race ever in the event. Moyer made her steeplechase debut just six days earlier on May 1 at the LHU Qualifier, and Friday at the conference meet, she recorded a 36-second win with an NCAA Division II provisional mark.
Moyer’s time of 10:40.35 broke her own school record – set last weekend – by nine seconds, and as of press time, it stood as the eighth-fastest time this season in Division II.
Thursday’s 10K PSAC title and Friday’s individual championship performance in the steeplechase ran Moyer’s career PSAC individual title tally to seven gold medals.
The steeplechase proved to be a tremendous event for LHU as two other Lock Haven runners recorded big personal-best outings. Morgan Perry (Quarryville, Pa./Solanco) scored in eighth with a personal-best time of 12:01.76, which was a 22-second career improvement. Karlee Noel (Altoona, Pa./Altoona) was ninth overall with a seven-second personal-best mark of 12:09.54.
Karina Long (Hummelstown, Pa./Lower Dauphin) placed fifth in the long jump with a season-best leap of 18-01.50.
Sprinter Riyana Owens (Red Lion, Pa./Dallastown) and hurdler Billie Jo Bollinger (Manheim, Pa./Manheim) both performed well Friday and qualified for the finals Saturday in the 100-meter dash and 100-meter hurdles, respectively.
Owens qualified sixth in the 100 after running 12.32 in the prelims. She was third of eight in the first prelim-heat.
Bollinger ran 15.40 in the 100-meter hurdle prelims, which sits as the fourth-fastest time heading into Saturday’s finals. She was second of eight in the heat No. 2.
Saturday marks the third and final day of competition at the 2021 PSAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Field events are scheduled for an 11 a.m. start and the track events start at 12:30 p.m.
