Division I competition pushed Century grad Penelopea Gordon to NCAA track first round
May 23—ROCHESTER — At the end of January, Penelopea Gordon wasn't sure if she would have a good freshman track and field season at Saint Mary's College in Moraga, Calif.
Or if she would finish it.
Gordon fainted, a combination of dehydration and low iron, and was out of action for five weeks. She returned to the track March 3 in a meet at Chabot College in Hayward, Calif., for the 4x400 relay.
Gordon, a Century grad, didn't run her first 800 of the season until April 1 at the Mike Fanelli Track Classic in San Francisco.
She finished in 38th place — out of 103 runners — with a time of 2:17.32.
Now, she shaved 10 seconds off her time and qualified to run the 800 at the NCAA Division I Track and Field Championships West First Round in Sacramento on Thursday, May 25.
Gordon credits one thing for her performance turnaround: the high caliber talent that surrounds her.
Her qualifying time of 2:07.27 came at the Portland Distance Carnival on May 13, where she finished third behind 2020 Olympic bronze medalist Raevyn Rogers and five-time All-American and Asics pro runner Alli Cash.
The time gave Gordon the second fastest 800 finish in Saint Mary's history and landed her in the top 20 fastest freshmen in the country. Oh, and Gordon is the first freshman in program history to qualify for the West First Round.
"This is just extra sprinkles on ice cream," Gordon said of the chance to compete in the track postseason. "It's just another opportunity I get to race. I'm so happy and excited."
Gordon's success as a college freshman comes on the heels of an outstanding high school career at Century. She placed third in the Class AA state meet last spring in the 800, running a 2:13.30 in the state finals, good for a third-place finish. That time narrowly missed setting a Century school record, which is held by Jenny Guibert (2:13.13).
Gordon is not the only Century grad who's happy to make it to the NCAA postseason this spring. Max Comfere, Gordon's boyfriend, will represent Columbia University in the 4x400 relay at the East First Round in Jacksonville, Fla.
"We've talked a little about prelims," Gordon said, "and we're both just super happy that we get to even race as freshmen."
She will have plenty of strong competition to push her in her race Thursday, with the highest seed running a two-minute 800.
No matter what happens in Sacramento, the chance to compete in the postseason "definitely sets the bar for the next three years," Gordon said.
"Anything can happen," she said. "At this point, since I've dropped so much time, I'm just going to race to compete. Anything could happen."
