STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - Penn State Harrisburg's men's and women's indoor track & field teams opened the 2023-24 campaign at the Youree-Spence Garcia Invitational hosted by St. John's University at the Ocean Breeze Athletic Complex on Saturday night, Dec. 2.

A couple of established veterans and a mix of newcomers shined on the women's side, with returners Leah Gray and Makayla Grace Weber picking up where they left off last spring and the debuting Steph Reider, Katrin Cavanaugh, and Sarah Gibbons making strong first impressions in their events. 

Gray was the top Division III finisher in the 60m dash, with her time of 8.01 seconds earning her an 11th-place finish in a field of 62 competitors. The senior also had strong showings in the 200m (27.18 seconds) and 400m dashes (1:06.45). Weber posted a time of 10.74 seconds in the 60m hurdles and mirrored Gray in the 400m dash with an effort of 1:06.47. 

Reider immediately etched her name in the program record book, as her top toss of 12.72 meters in the weight throw proved just .16 meters shy of the best mark in school history. The senior also debuted in the runner-up spot in the program's shot put record book thanks to her best effort of 10.18 meters in the event. 

Cavanaugh displayed her potential in the field, as her top mark of 2.90 meters in the pole vault ranks her second all-time in program history in the event. The freshman also took part in the long jump and recorded a top bound of 4.35 meters. Fellow freshman Gibbons ran the 1,000m and crossed the line in 4:00.00 - a time good enough to earn her the runner-up spot in the program's record book for the event.

On the men's side, Comlan Greg Acoliste had a massive first outing. The thrower shattered his previous PR in the weight throw with a top toss of 14.36 meters - a mark good enough to earn him a third-place finish out of 16 competitors. The senior cemented his place in the runner-up position in the program's record book in the event in the process. 

Elsewhere, Paul Netland III secured a seventh-place finish in the 60m hurdles thanks to his time of 8.85 seconds, while freshman Kadin Sodmont got his feet wet in the 60m (7.26 seconds), 200m (23.02 seconds), and 400m dashes (52.88 seconds). Fellow rookie Oluwa Kinti finished fifth in the the shot put with a top throw of 12.77 meters and freshman Jah'Sir Shumate earned a top-10 finish in the 400m (52.65 seconds).

Distance runners Angel Patino (2:54.20) and Jon Carnesi (2:59.80) had solid showing in the 1,000m and Mohammed Sakayl (9:57.00) nearly broke into the program record book in the 3,000m.

The Lions will look to build off their strong start to the season when they travel to Franklin & Marshall for the Diplomat Open on Friday evening, Dec. 8.