| Aleesha Barber won three events, set three stadium records, and posted three regional-qualifying performances at Saturday??s Bucknell Team Challenge in Lewisburg, Pa. |
LEWISBURG, Pa.: April 21, 2007 ?C Taking advantage of the best weather so far this outdoor season, the Nittany Lion track and field teams won a combined total of 25 events, and set 10 facility records on its way to dual victories at the Bucknell Team Challenge, Saturday at Christy Mathewson Memorial Stadium. The Lions also brought home a slew of NCAA regional performances, as six athletes hit standards for the first time this season and another five made improvements to their previous NCAA marks.
Redshirt freshman Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.) had a career day on the track, notching personal bests in both hurdle races, on her way to setting three new stadium records in three event wins. Barber began the day with a career-low 13.52 in the 100-meter hurdles, bettering the regional standard as well as the previous track record. The freshman continued to shine the 400-meter hurdles, going 58.54 for the win and new stadium record. Barber??s short hurdle time is the second fastest in school history, while her long barrier mark is the third best by a Nittany Lion.
Senior Caleb Hood (Ligonier, Pa.) made it a Penn State sweep in the quarter hurdles, posting a regional-qualifying, stadium-record, and personal-best 52.15.
Barber and teammates Briene Simmons (Decatur, Ga.), Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.) and Dominique Blake (Bronx, N.Y.) combined to set a new facility standard in the 4x400-meters, breezing to victory in 3:39.18, also a regional-qualifying mark.
Blake was also a triple winner, taking top honors individually in the 200- and 400-meters. The junior dropped her regional performance to 53.99 in the quarter, while sprinting to a season-best 24.74 in the 200.
Meanwhile, Simmons moved her way up the NCAA list, clocking a season-low and stadium-record 2:07.95. Freshman Mike Cadau (Mahanoy City, Pa.) broke the tape in the men??s half, running a career-best 1:51.20.
Hunter eclipsed the regional standard in the long jump, posting a leap of 19-11.5 (6.08m), Lena Bettis (Riverside, Calif.) went 40-2.75 (12.26m) to take the triple jump. Senior Ryan Kleintop (Slatington, Pa.) jumped 23-11.75 (7.31m) in the men??s long jump, winning the event and setting a new stadium record.
| Allen Pettner improved his career-best throw to win the javelin and set a new stadium record at Saturday??s Bucknell Team Challenge in Lewisburg, Pa. |
In the distances, freshman Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) rolled to a sizzling 10:16.40 in the 3000-meter steeplechase in her first career attempt at the event. The rookie??s mark is the fastest in the East Region this spring, as well as the fifth best in the NCAA. Franek bettered a regional standard for the second-straight week, after claiming a spot on the NCAA list in the 1500-meters last weekend. Mike Syrnick (Philadelphia, Pa.) also impressed in his first-ever steeplechase, clocking 9:09.60 for the win, barely two seconds off the regional standard.
Other distance winners included Claire Percival (Sarnia, Ontario) in the 1500 (4:35.44), and Janelle Young (Lemoyne, Pa.) in the 3,000-meters (10:14.33). Both athletes posted personal bests in their respective victories. The women??s 4x800-meter team also recorded a win, with the team of Leah Rosenfeld (Ridgefield, Conn.), Kathryn Fitzgerald (Pittsburgh, Pa.), Lindsay Guenter (Sinking Spring, Pa.) and Kelly Chadwick (State College, Pa.) finishing in 9:24.12.
Helen Higgins (Waynesburg, Pa.) and Toya Woods (New Rochelle, N.Y.) both posted event wins and regional qualifiers as Higgins captured the hammer title with a season-best mark of 179-0 (54.57m), and Woods used a career-long 47-7.75 (14.52m) to win the shot put. Emma Schmelzer (Bloomington, Ill.) added nearly two meters to her previous regional-qualifying mark throwing 167-4 (51.01) in the discus, notching an event win and a lifetime best.
Senior Allen Pettner (Mercersburg, Pa.) highlighted the men??s throws with a towering heave of 228-9 (69.72m) in the javelin. Pettner??s toss was a facility record, a career best, as well as an improvement on his regional qualifier. Steve Meyers (Wayne, Pa.) and Dane Miller (Reading, Pa.) also managed wins in the field with Meyers marking 164-4 (50.10) to take the discus, and Miller throwing 54-6.75 (16.63m) to best the shot put field.
The Nittany Lion men captured both the 4x100 and 4x400, with James Myles (Merrimack, N.H.), Adam Stanowick (Solon, Ohio), Dan Engel (Newton Square, Pa.) and Ron Jules (Tom??s River, N.J.) covering the quarter mile in season-best 41.68, and Stanowick, Cadau, Hood, and Jules taking the mile relay in 3:16.81. Jules was also the victor in the short hurdles, posting a season-best 14.68.
The Nittany Lion women tallied 251 points to win the team title, while the men took top honors with a score of 170.
The Lions travel to Philadelphia next week for the storied Penn Relays at Franklin Field. Both the heptathlon and decathlon competitions get underway on Tuesday, April 24.