The Auburn men's and women's track and field team earned second and fourth place titles, as well as a college division title at the Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Penn, April 23-25.
"Some of the best teams across the country were there, and we competed very well, so I'm excited about how it went," said head coach Ralph Spry.
The Tigers broke a personal record in the 4x200 meter-relay as sophomores Joanna Atkins and Cache Armbrister, and freshmen CeCe Williams and Nivea Smith beat Auburn's previous record of 1:32.42 with a time of 1:31.19.
The record was also the fifth-best time in Penn Relays history. Texas A&M placed the second-best time ever, causing Auburn to finish second in the event.
Freshman Ryan Fleck's mark of 2.16 meters (7-1) in the men's high jump matched his season best in the event and placed him fourth in the championship division.
Sophomores Michael DeHaven and Bernard Spivey, and freshmen Nick Green and Marcus Rowland finished in first place in the men's 4x400-meter relay in the college division for teams that qualified ninth through 16th in the preliminary events.
Their time of 3:06.34 passed their previous season record by almost three seconds.
"We have the talent," DeHaven said. "We just had to control our nerves. We did a good job on that."
Senior Raevan Harris cleared 1.83 meters (6-0) in the women's high jump, placing second in the overall event.
"My high jump wasn't as well as I wanted to do, but it was pretty good as far as my whole outdoor season goes," Harris said. "I've been in a slump for a little while, but I'm coming back up. Our team as a whole did well."
The event was held in front of 47,904 fans at The University of Pennsylvania's Franklin Field.
"I thought we had a pretty solid competition this weekend," Spry said. "We ran some good races against some of the top teams in the country. I was hopeful that we would get a few more regional qualifiers, but all-in-all I'm happy, and we still have a chance to compete for the SEC title."
Auburn also sent competitors to the Triton Invitational in San Diego and to the Coach O Invitational hosted by Troy University last weekend.
Auburn performed well at these events as well.
Junior Eric Wesley placed fifth in the shot put (17.97 meters, 58-11.5) and 13th in the discus (55.20 meters, 181-1) at the Triton Invitational, while freshman Wesley Wright placed 15th in the shot put (15.22 meters, 49-11.25) and 16th in the hammer throw (55.90 meters, 183-5).
Senior Jhak Keegan won the men's 400-meter hurdle at the Coach O Invitational with a time of 53.18, while Johnathon Haynes trailed behind him with 54.56 to place second.
Senior Becca Bell ran a 10:35.83, and sophomore Allison Smith a 10:37.39 in the 3,000 meter, finishing one-two for Auburn.
The Tigers will next travel to Gainesville, Fla., to compete in the SEC Outdoor Championships May 14-17.
"This was our last competition prior to the SEC Championship, so we wanted to use this weekend to stay sharp and keep everybody focused," Spry said. "From this point on to the SEC, we'll just get sharper."
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