| Freshman phenom Ryan Fritz is among the Nittany Lions' young talents who will help them take on one of the toughest conferences in the nation. |
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The 2006 indoor season showed a great deal of promise for the Nittany Lion men. Veterans and newcomers contributed equally, and expectations are high going into the outdoor season.
Seniors Alex Langan, Ernie Terrell, Scott Vernon, Tyler Fedeli and Steve Morgan all scored consistently, leading the team by example. With these veterans going into their final outdoor season, the Lions are stocked with young talent ready to take on the Big Ten.
Among the young Lions, perhaps the brightest star is freshman Ryan Fritz. The top-ranked high jumper in the nation in high school, Fritz came to Happy Valley with great promise and did not disappoint. The All-Big Ten second teamer dominated the event all season, placing first in 3 meets and never finishing out of the top three.
Also making a name for themselves are Ron Jules and Mark Miller, two juniors with sophomore eligibility. Jules proved himself to be a threat in the 55/60 meter hurdles, finishing consistently in the top five. Miller became a reliable scorer in the 800 meter run and competed on several winning 4x800 relay teams. By the end of the season, both athletes had developed to frontrunners in the highly competitive ICAAAA meet, with Jules winning the hurdles and Miller finishing second in the 800.
In sprints, freshman and two-sport athlete Knowledge Timmons showed the speed that made him a top recruit. Timmons edged out the blazing Terrell by five hundredths of a second in the 200 at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup.
Penn State also showed it has promising multi-event competitors in sophomore Shawn Colligan and freshmen David Burrell and Chris Morrisey. Morrisey finished first in the heptathlon at the Penn State National, keeping the top score in the Big Ten for a full month. All three athletes placed in the top five in various events throughout the season.