UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; January 26, 2007 - In one of the most anticipated meets of the collegiate indoor season, the Nittany Lion track and field teams hosted the opening day of high-caliber Penn State National Open. The 2007 field didn??t disappoint, producing over 20 NCAA qualifying performances on day one alone.
In the hottest race of the night, the Penn State distance medley relay team took down a 10 year-old school record (11:20.00, 1997) on its way to an NCAA provisional qualifying mark of 11:14.78, and a third-place finish in an elite field. Villanova won the race in 11:12.95, thanks to a strong anchor leg from All-American Frances Koons. Tennessee followed in second in 11:14.01.
The Nittany Lions got a strong lead-off leg from junior Megan Hutchinson (Doylestown, Pa.), who clocked 3:31 for 1200-meters. Hutchinson passed the baton to All-American Shana Cox (Westbury, N.Y.) who laid down a blistering 51.6 over 400-meters in her 2007 debut.
Junior Briene Simmons (Decatur, Ga.), who was a part of her third school record in as many weeks, then clocked a 2:06.12 800-meter split to keep the Lions in front. Freshman Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) anchored with an outstanding 4:45.5 for 1600-meters, holding her own with Koons, and Sarah Bowman of Tennessee, two of the top milers in the country.
Continuing the string NCAA provisional standards was Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.) in the 60-meter hurdles. Barber went 8.36 in the preliminaries in a field that produced five provisional qualifiers. In the semi-finals, the sophomore continued to impress, clocking a personal-best 8.25, the seventh-best time in the NCAA this season.
In the men??s 60 hurdles, standout senior Ron Jules (Tom??s River, N.J.) was solid through two rounds of qualifying, earning a spot in tomorrow??s final. Jules best time of the day was 8.00 in the semi-finals.
Also getting her name on the NCAA list was senior Amber Strouse (State College, Pa.), who finished fifth in an outstanding pentathlon field, scoring a career-best and provisional qualifying total of 3,760 points. Strouse recorded personal bests in 55-meter hurdles (8.42), and the shot put (33-3.25/10.14m), and tied her own career-record in the high jump (5-7/1.70m) on her way to the lifetime high. The competition saw six collegiates hit the provisional standard, while Bridgette Ingram, who entered unattached, took top honors with an impressive score of 4,056.
After four events in the men??s heptathlon, Lion alum Ryan Olkowski leads with a total of 3300 points, followed by Penn??s Kyle Calvo with 2967. Penn State??s Chris Morrisey (Ligonier, Pa.), and Shawn Colligan (Bradford, Pa.) currently stand in fourth and fifth, respectively.
Jennifer Leatherman, another Nittany Lion alum, bettered her own facility record in the 20lb weight throw, posting a toss of 73-00.50 (22.26m) for the event win. Current Lion senior Helen Higgins (Waynesburg, Pa.) finished fourth with a personal-best mark of 60-0.25 (18.29m).
Elsewhere in men??s action, the distance medley relay of Mike Syrnick (Philadelphia, Pa.), Mike Cadau (Mahanoy City, Pa.), Mike Malizia (Flourtown, Pa.), and Dennis Pollow (Ransomville, N.Y.) finished fourth overall in 10:01.02.
Action continues tomorrow morning, beginning with the concluding three events of the men??s heptathlon at 9:30 a.m.