| Ryan Fritz (pictured after his May 12 high jump victory) added another accolade to his growing resume on Saturday, winning the high jump at the NCAA East Regional Championships. |
GAINESVILLE, Fla.: May 26, 2007 ?C Sophomore Ryan Fritz (Parkesburg, Pa.) added another accolade to his growing resume on Saturday, winning the high jump at the NCAA East Regional Championships at James G. Pressly Stadium, while senior Christen Clemson (Cortland, Ohio) also came up with a regional win, tossing a two-meter PR to take the women??s discus title. The Nittany Lion women tied their all-time best regional finish in the team standings, earning fourth overall with 45 points. The Penn State men ended up tied for 11th in the team race with a 21-point total.
With their event wins, both Fritz and Clemson earn spots to the NCAA Championships next month, along with Nittany Lion javelin tandem Allen Pettner (Mercersburg, Pa.) and Tanner Evak (State College, Pa.), sprinter Shana Cox (Westbury, N.Y.), hurdler Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.), steepler Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio), and the 4x400-meter relay including Dominique Blake (Bronx, N.Y.), Briene Simmons (Decatur, Ga.), Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.), and Cox.
Fritz, the reigning Big Ten champion in the event, was flawless through the first three bars, leaving him in a two-man duel with Georgia Tech??s Jerome Miller, who entered the meet as the top seed but already had two misses during the competition. Fritz missed his first attempt at 7-2.25 (2.19), but soared over the height on his second attempt securing his first-career regional title as Miller exited the competition on misses.
Fritz??s mark also ties the East Region record, which was set by Florida??s Mike Morrison in 2005. Fritz is the second Nittany Lion to win a regional crown after former Penn State great Chavous Nichols won the triple jump in 2004. Only a sophomore, Fritz will be making his second NCAA appearance after earning All-America honors with his fifth-place finish indoors.
Clemson entered the final round of the discus in first place with a toss of 169-3 (51.60) from her preliminary flight. The senior, who is going to NCAAs for the first time in her career, then distanced herself from the field with a throw of 171-9 (52.35). Miami??s Khadija Talley then stole the lead on her final attempt, posting a mark of 174-5 (53.17). With one throw remaining, Clemson took to the circle, regaining the lead and sealing the win with a monster toss of 176-4 (53.76) ?C more than two meters better than her career best coming into the meet. Clemson is the sixth Nittany Lion woman to win a regional crown, and the second in a throwing event.
Cox sprinted to a season-low 51.38 to take silver-medal honors, finishing second only to South Carolina??s Natasha Hastings, who clocked a world-leading 50.23. Cox??s time is the fourth fastest in the NCAA this spring, and the fifth best by an American. This will be the redshirt junior??s third trip to outdoor nationals, following a third-place effort last year.
Cox would come back to anchor the mile relay where the Nittany Lion women claimed second place and an automatic bid to nationals with a scorching school-record time of 3:31.75. After strong quarters from both Blake and Simmons, Hunter ran an outstanding third leg to put the Lions in second place and handed off to Cox who secured the automatic qualifier. The teams time is the 14th fastest in the world this season according to the IAAF, and the fifth-best by a collegiate squad.
Pettner and Evak both earned automatic NCAA bids in the javelin, finishing third and fourth, respectively. Pettner marked a throw of 232-06 (70.86) for bronze medal honors, as well as his first career trip to nationals, while Evak, who will also make his first NCAA appearance, threw a personal-best 229-1 (69.83).
Also tallying a bronze-medal effort was Franek, who despite falling over a barrier in the early goings of the race, managed to bounce back with an impressive 10:00.57, which betters the previous facility and East Region records. Claire Percival (Sarnia, Ontario) made good on her first career regional appearance, finishing 11th in personal-best 10:24.01 and staying alive in the at-large pool for NCAAs.
Barber sprinted to a career-low time of 57.00 in the 400-meter hurdles, finishing third overall and claiming a lane at NCAAs. Barber??s mark also betters her own school record, set in her victory at the Big Ten Championships. The redshirt freshman took seventh in the 100-meter hurdles earlier in the day, running 13.59. Despite missing an automatic qualifier, Barber??s 13.39 in yesterday??s qualifier round could still warrant an at-large bid.
In the throwing circle, seniors Helen Higgins (Waynesburg, Pa.) and Steve Meyers (Wayne, Pa.) qualified for the final round in their respective events, with both Nittany Lions bringing home ninth-place finishes. Higgins posted a toss of 178-10 (54.51) in the hammer, while Meyers threw a lifetime-best 57-3.50 (17.46) in the shot put. Also notching a big PR was Lena Bettis (Riverside, Calif.) who leaped to a mark of 41-7 (12.67) in the triple jump, finishing 14th.
The Lions will take a well deserved weekend off before traveling to the NCAA Championships, hosted by Sacramento State on June 6-9.