ATLANTA, Ga. - The North Florida track and field team had plenty of lifetime performances with two field athletes and five Osprey runners reaching personal-best marks at the Georgia Tech Invitational on Saturday afternoon.

The high jumpers highlighted the second day of the meet for the Ospreys, as Tariq Lajoie put together a top-three finish, while Kaley Petrosky and Izabelle Hays both recorded personal-best marks. In an outdoor season that has been plagued with inclement weather conditions, the jumpers were able to find their groove this weekend.

Robert Pedroza had a phenomenal performance while racing in the 800m with his new personal-best time that earned him a top-10 finish against a strong field. Celine D'Anna also had her fastest time in the 400mH race to finish in the top 20.

IN THE FIELD

• Lajoie had a great jump of 2.00m that notched him third place among 10 athletes, which was only two centimeters short of his season-best mark.
• Petrosky and Hays posted lifetime best marks in the women's high jump, as Petrosky recorded a jump of 1.69m, while Hays was right behind with a 1.64m mark.

ON THE TRACK

Men's Races

• Pedroza had the best finish for the Osprey runners on Saturday with a ninth-place finish in the 800m race just edging out his lifetime best mark at 1:51.59.
• Ladarius Tellis also had an impressive personal-best time of 1:51.90 to finish 13th, while Aiden Arnold finished 28th at 1:54.74.
• Ryan Thomas set a new personal-best time in the 400m hurdles clocking in at 55.41 to turn in a top-15 finish among a group of 34 runners.

Women's Races

• D'Anna ran the fastest 400m hurdles of her collegiate career with a time of 1:05.69 that got her 17th place.
• Emma Jane Schlageter highlighted the women's 800m race for the Ospreys with her debut time of 2:18.94 in that race to finish 39th.
• Hannah Martin also competed in the 800m with an improved time of 2:22.93 to place just outside the top 50.

PIGG'S THOUGHTS

"Tariq [Lajoie] had a good day. We finally got good weather for him and the jumpers. He looked sharp and it was just good experience for him beating some good guys. On the women's side, the weather was good and they needed that. Both Izabelle [Hays] and Kaley [Petrosky] cleared the opening bar, which started at a pretty high mark. It was a lifetime best for both Izabelle and Kaley, so the jumpers had a great day and it was exciting. We hope to continue that trend for the rest of the year.

In the 800m, Ladarius [Tellis] had a really nice race and broke into the sub-1:52 mark for the first time in his life, so that was good for him and we were happy to see that. Robert [Pedroza] ran a lifetime best as well and looked sharp in the second day of the track meet. It was great to see those guys ready to step up and run really well."
-- head coach Jeff Pigg

NEXT UP

The UNF track and field teams will return home to compete in their final two meets of the season with the UNF Invite and the ASUN Championships both being hosted at Hodges Stadium within the next few weeks.