| The Penn State men??s distance crew poses on the awards stand following their performances at the Penn Relays. (L ?C R) Dennis O??Connor, Director of Track and Field Beth Alford-Sullivan, Dan Mazzocco, Patrick Murphy, John Mahoney, Tyler McCandless, and assistant coach John Gondak. |
PHILADELPHIA: April 26, 2007 ?C After sweeping the multi-events on Wednesday, the Nittany Lion track and field team continued to make its presence felt at the historic Penn Relays on Thursday, as freshman Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) led the way with one of the a Penn State record performance.
Franek set a new school record with a career-best 9:59.21 to win the 3,000-meter steeplechase, bettering Molly Landreth??s previous Nittany Lion standard of 10:07.78. The rookie??s performance is not only the second-fastest ever run at the prestigious Franklin Field, but the third best in the NCAA, and the fifth-fastest run by an American this spring ?C all this in just her second-ever attempt at the event.
Teammate Claire Percival (Sarnia, Ontario) also shaved some seconds off her previous personal record, running 10:35.69 to finish 10th, while Sonja Hinish (Williamsburg, Pa.) followed in 11th in 10:51.62. Freshman Cheryl Spring (The Woodlands, Texas) posted a career-best 10:58.88 to take 13th. Mike Syrnick (Philadelphia, Pa.) took sixth in the men??s ??college?? division, finishing in 9:13.20.
Both Dan Mazzocco (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and John Mahoney (Richboro, Pa.) managed PRs in the men??s 5000-meters, with Mazzocco going 14:17.80 to place 18th in ??championship?? section. Mahoney ran 14:26.73, finishing fourth in ??college?? race.
Running strong in the women??s 5000 was freshman Jessie Babcock (Irvine, Calif.), who finished in 17:20.38, just off her career-best mark. Sophomore Claire Berryman (Morgantown, W.Va.) closed out the night on the women??s side with a career-low 36:41.03, good for 18th in the 10,000-meter championship.
Sophomore Tyler McCandless (Allentown, Pa.) was solid in the men??s 10K, running 30:19.06 for 11th, while Dennis O??Connor (Philadelphia), and Patrick Murphy (Johnson City, N.Y.) ran 30:57.32, and 31:41.34, respectively.
Senior Kim Markel (Wexford, Pa.) improved her regional mark in the 400-meter hurdles, clocking 59.79, while teammate Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.) ran 59.11 in the same event.
In the field, senior Toya Woods (New Rochelle, N.Y.) captured the victory in the ??eastern?? division of the women??s shot put, marking 47-3.75 (14.42m). Christen Clemson (Cortland, Ohio) was the runner-up, throwing a personal-best 45-10.75 (13.99m). Heidi Nadeau (North Hampton, N.H.) was the silver medalist in the women??s ??championship?? javelin, tossing 162-10 (49.64), a career best and an improvement on her regional-qualifying mark.
Action continues at Franklin Field on Friday morning with most the men??s collegiate events scheduled. Keep up with all the results at www.thepennrelays.com.
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