Jermaine Clayton, Nicole Blaesser Receive Weekly PSAC Awards

IUP senior Jermaine Clayton and junior Nicole Blaesser have been selected as recipients of the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference weekly track and field awards.

Clayton (Blairsville/Derry) was the PSAC men’s field athlete of the week while Blaesser (Oxford/Oxford) won the women’s track award.  Both turned in standout performances on the team’s spring trip to North Carolina last weekend.

Clayton ranks first or second in the PSAC in four events in the early stages of the track and field outdoor season.  He turned in a top mark of 23 feet, 5 ¾ inches in the long jump at the Wake Forest Invitational to lead the PSAC and rank sixth in Division II, provisionally qualifying him for nationals.

Clayton also won the triple jump with a leap of 44-7 ¼ to place second in the PSAC.  He was fourth at Wake Forest in the 100 (10.76) and 200 (22.13) and ranks first and second, respectively, in the conference in those events.

Blaesser was third in a predominantly Division I field of 23 runners in the 10,000 at the Raleigh Relays hosted by North Carolina State.  Her time of 32:22.28 trailed only runners from the University of Virginia and University of Buffalo and is the top mark in the nation so far this spring.

Blaesser earned a provisional qualification for nationals and is one minute, 22 seconds from meeting the automatic standard. 

Both IUP teams are back in action this weekend at the Carnegie Mellon Invitational.