Devin Nugent, Norrah Lemongo Lead Pitt Panthers Stars At Penn Relays

Story by

Bob Rose

Tue, Apr 29, 2025 ·

3 min read

The 129th edition of the prestigious Penn Relays was run this past weekend in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Pittsburgh Panthers had several standout performances at the three-day meet. However, two stood out above all others.

Junior Devin Nugent on the men's side and sophomore Norrah Lemongo for the women continued their outstanding outdoor seasons. Each turned in first place gold medal finishes for the Panthers while also placing in another event.

Nugent, a graduate of North Penn High School near Philadelphia, won the Penn Relays men's 400m hurdles for the second consecutive year.

Pitt Panthers hurdler Devin Nugent at the Penn Relays. Credit: North Penn Athletics/@NPHSKnights on X.com

After trailing for the first nine hurdles, Nugent grabbed the lead at the last hurdle to win the event with a time of 50.36 seconds. Nugent was also part of the Panthers 4×400 relay team that grabbed 8th place.

Lemongo notched perhaps her most impressive of several event victories this spring. Despite a steady rain, she won the women's shot put with a distance of 16.34 meters. Additionally, Lemongo also took 3rd place in the women's hammer with a personal-best 55.53 meters.

Lemongo and Nugent were the top stars for Pitt at one of the most prestigious meets in the country. However, there were other Panthers that grabbed top-8 finishes at the Penn Relays.

Pitt Women

Junior thrower Niya Crawford has flown under the radar to Lemongo much of this spring but has been nearly as impressive. Crawford took 6th place in the shot put with a distance of 15.47 meters. She also grabbed a 7th in the discus with 46.45 meters, a personal best distance.

The Panthers women's 4×400 relay team of Je'Nyia Burton, Logan Neely, Faith Dennis, and Caleia Johnson stormed to a 6th place finish with a time of 3:36.78. Pitt's 4×200 team of Burton, Johnson, Endeyah Lane, and Alma Evuna Eki qualified for the finals after a strong preliminary run, but came up just short of a top-8 finish.

Pitt Men

Jaden Shelton (center) of the Pitt Panthers during the 110 hurdles at Penn Relays. Credit: @Pitt_TF_XC on X.com

Junior Jaden Shelton has quietly had a strong campaign. He'd take 3rd in the 110m hurdles with 13.95 seconds. Senior Daniel Amaya tossed his way to 5th in the hammer throw with 62.99 meters.

The Pittsburgh men relays were even more impressive than their women at the Penn Relays. No small achievement.

Pitt's 4×400 team of Malik Ricketts, Thomas McDonough, Stephon Brown, and Devin Nugent qualified for the finals with a 3:07.42 prelim time. Darren McQueen replaced McDonough for the finals, helping Pitt to an 8th place finish of 3:10.66.

The Panthers 4×100 squad continued a historic campaign so far. Darren McQueen, Thomas McDonough, Malik Ricketts, and Stephon Brown easily qualified for the finals with a preliminary run of 39.89 seconds. The foursome took 2nd place in Saturday's final with 39.76 seconds.

Devin Nugent was named PNC Achiever of the week for his repeat 400m hurdles championship at the Penn Relays. He's the fourth member of the Pitt track team to receive the honor this month, joining Je'Nyia Burton, Jaden Shelton, and Norrah Lemongo.