| Heidi Nadeau threw a regional qualifying 154-2 in javelin at the Stanford Invitational on Friday. |
PALO ALTO, Calif.: March 30, 2007 ?C A trio of Nittany Lions saw their outdoor season off to a stellar start at the Stanford Invitational on Friday, as Mark Miller (Shillington, Pa.), Allen Pettner (Mercersburg, Pa.) and Heidi Nadeau (North Hampton, N.H.) punched their tickets to the NCAA Regional Championships. The day marked the start of a busy weekend for Penn State, as teams are set to compete at the George Mason Spring Classic, and continue action at Stanford on Saturday.
Pettner and Nadeau saw action for the first time this year, opening their 2007 campaigns in the javelin. Pettner, the defending conference champion in the event, threw a personal-best 226-06 (69.04m), smashing the regional standard (61.60) by nearly 30 feet. Pettner??s mark, which was good for the event win, is the third best in the country this season. Nadeau also guaranteed herself a trip to Gainesville in May, posting a mark of 154-2 (47.00m) to take third in the competition.
??Allen went out and competed with a purpose and made a statement in his first meet of the season,?? said Director of Track and Field Beth Alford-Sullivan. ??We??re all very impressed with his performance and are extremely excited about what he can achieve this spring.??
??Mark and Heidi competed very well within their respective fields,?? continued Sullivan. ??Hitting the regional qualifier is a great way to get their seasons started.??
Miller, last year??s Big Ten champ in the half mile, clocked 1:50.25 to finish ninth in a stacked 800-meter field, won by Northern Arizona??s Lopez Lomong in 1:47.65.
Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.) ran her way into tomorrow??s 100-meter hurdle final, clocking 13.96 for ninth place in the preliminaries. Barber would go on to run 24.68 in the 200-meters, good for 14th overall.
Teammate Shana Cox (Westbury, N.Y.) notched a top 10 finish in the event, going 24.21 for sixth. Cox also competed in the 100-meter dash, finishing 10th in 12.15.
For complete results and recaps following Saturday??s events, log onto www.GoPSUSports.com.