| Ryan Fritz (Photo by Mark Selders) |
BIG TEN TRACK AND FIELD LIVE RESULTS!!!
Sunday (Day Three) Heat Sheets
Saturday (Day Two) Results
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; May 12, 2007- Highlighted by a Big Ten high jump crown for Ryan Fritz(Parkesburg, Pa.), Penn State made a strong showing on Day Two and stands in third overall on the men's side with 39 points and fourth overall on the women's side with 36 points. Wisconsin leads the men's race to the title with 65 points, while Minnesota is ahead on the women's side with 62 points.
"With the weather changing from so nice this morning to thunderstorms, it was a typical day here in Happy Valley," said Penn State head track & field coach Beth Alford-Sullivan. "Our team performed just tremendously throughout all of it.
"I was very impressed with our men??s team today. We asked them on Thursday to make a statement to the conference that we are a team to be reckoned with and that we??ll be a force in the future. We??re shooting for a top five finish and we??re sitting pretty. We had great performances from Ryan Fritz and the decathlon guys. The women had a very solid day as well. I??m really pleased with how we??ve performed over the past two days. "
In men's action from the Big Ten Track & Field Championships being held in Happy Valley this weekend, Fritz won the conference title in the high jump after a 7-01.75 mark in the event. The Big Ten crown was the first of the competition for Penn State in any event.
Penn State's decathlon tandem of Chris Morrisey (Ligonier, Pa.) and Shawn Colligan (Bradford, Pa.) finished second and third, respectively, while Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.) finished third in the heptathlon. Morrisey hauled in 7095 points to Wisconsin's Joe Detmer's winning 7278. Colligan ended the day with 7041.
Hunter's 5,559 points to finish third began the scoring Saturday for the Nittany Lions. This is Hunter's second top three finish at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships.
Junior thrower Heidi Nadieu(Northampton, N.H.) finished as the runner-up in the javelin after her 167-02 effort. The New Hampshire-native made it on the podium after narrowly missing last year with a fourth-place finish.
Freshman Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) was Penn State's final scorer of the day, finishing third in the steeplechase with a time of 10:05.96 and earning six points. Claire Percival (Sarnia, Ohio) finished in 10:27.83, good enough for fifth place, grabbing another four points to the Nittany Lions.
Final Big Ten championship action begins Sunday at 11:30 a.m. at Nittany Lion Outdoor Track.
GoPSUsports caught up with several Penn State athletes after their trips to the championship podium.
RYAN FRITZ - 2007 BIG TEN HIGH JUMP CHAMPION
How did it feel to win a Big Ten title at home?
It felt good. This is my second one, but the first one here, so it felt really good.
How did you feel about your performance today?
It wasn??t my best day and I could always do better, but I??m happy with the turnout.
What do you have to do to improve at NCAAs?
I just have to keep lifting and keep running hard.
| Gayle Hunter (right) Photo by Jason York) |
GAYLE HUNTER - THIRD PLACE, HEPTATHLON
Can you comment on your performance this year?
"Overall, it didn't go how we planned, but I guess you can't win them all. We just take it as a learning experience and prepare for nationals."
What was your best event?
"My best event was the 200. I ran it in 24 seconds flat. I was pretty proud of that."
CHRIS MORRISEY AND SHAWN COLLIGAN - SECOND AND THIRD PLACE, DECATHLON
Penn State??s Chris Morrisey and Shawn Colligan finished second and third, respectively, in the decathlon. Morrisey accumulated a total of 7,095 points while Colligan followed behind with 7,041.
How did you feel about your performance today? Morrisey: ??You can??t be upset with a second place finish in the Big Ten. Obviously there??s places you want to do better, but we came out today and worked our butts off.??
Colligan: ??We represented our home turf.??
HEIDI NADEAU - SECOND PLACE, JAVELIN
How did it feel to place at home?
"It was great. Everyone was cheering and to have Ryan Fritz right there winning the high jump, it was awesome. I can??t ask for anything more."
How was the support of the fans?
"It was really good. I had a four foot personal record. I threw 167?? twice and I??ve never placed on the medal stand before. Last year, I was fourth, so this year was really great."
How did it feel to have two Penn Staters at the podium?
Colligan: ??It was a great feeling because it used to be the Wisconsin show. Last year they went 1-2-3-4.??
Morrisey: ??We just defended the home turf. You can??t let a team come in here and knock off Penn State. It??s pride.??
Colligan: ??It??s also nice to have fans here too.??
| Chris Morrisey (Photo by Steve Manuel) |
BRIDGET FRANEK - THIRD PLACE, STEEPLECHASE
How did it feel to place at home?
It felt really good. I didn??t even know that I would be running this event. I thought I was going to have a chase to place in the 1,500, but then I was put in the steeplechase and I just took it as another opportunity.
What was the fan support like while you were running?
It was amazing. My teammates were screaming the fight song in the corner, it was so cool.
OTHER PENN STATE DAY TWO HIGHLIGHTS:
Penn State Point Scorers from Saturday:
Men
Shane Colligan: Decathlon (Final Point Total: 7041- 3rd place, 6 points)
Ryan Fritz: High Jump (Final Height: 7.01.75- 1st place, 10 points)
Ryan Klientop: Long Jump (Final Distance: 24-05.50 (7.45m)- 6th place, 3 points)
Dane Miller: Discus (Final Distance: 163-10 (49.94m)- 4th place, 5 points)
Chris Morrisey: Decathlon (Final Point Total: 7095- 2nd place, 8 points)
Women
Briget Franek: 3000 meter steeplechase (Time: 10:05.96- 3rd place, six points)
Gayle Hunter: Heptathlon (Final Point Total: 5559- 3rd place, 6 points)
Heidi Nadeau: Javelin (Final Distance: 167-02 (50.92m)- 3nd place, 8 points)
Claire Percival: 3000 meter steeplechase (10:27.83- 5th place, 4 points)
Toya Woods: Shot put (Final Distance: 46.01-50 (14.06m)- 8th place, 1 point)
Advancing to Sunday's Finals:
Men
4x100 relay (Trails time: 41.54- 9th)
Brian Fuller: 1500 Meter Run (Trails time: 3:55.39- 13th)
Ron Jules: 110 meter hurdles (Trails Time: 14.54- 5th)
Women
4x100 Relay (Trails time: 45.60- 3rd)
Aleeshe Barber: 100 meter hurdles (Trials Time: 13.36- 3rd)
400 meter hurdles (Trials Time: 58.64- 3rd)
Dominique Blake: 400 meters (Trails time: 54.33- 2nd)
Shana Cox: 400 meters (Trails time: 53.05- 4th)
Kim Markel: 400 meter hurdles (Trials Time: 59.43- 4th)
Briene Simmons: 800 meter run (Trials time: 2:07.11- 5th)
| Heidi Nadeau (Photo by Mark Selders |
MEN'S TEAM TOTALS (THROUGH EVENT 38)
1. Wisconsin, 65
2. Minnesota, 46
3. Penn State, 39
4. Iowa, 31.50
5. Purdue, 30
6. Indiana, 21
7. Illinois, 20.50
8. Ohio State, 15
9. Michigan, 5
10. Michigan State, 0
WOMEN'S TEAM TOTALS (THROUGH EVENT 38)
1. Minnesota, 62
2. Purdue, 43
3. Michigan, 37
4. Penn State, 36
5. Indiana, 31
6. Michigan State, 24
7. Illinois, 23
8. Iowa, 22
9. Wisconsin, 21
10. Ohio State, 13
Check back for updates on the Nittany Lions from the 2007 Big Ten Track & Field Championships being held at Penn State through Sunday.