Jan. 23, 2008
REVISED Schedule | Men's Heat Sheets | Women's Heat Sheets | Meet History
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.: January 22, 2008 - The Nittany Lion track and field men's and 12th-ranked women's track and field teams are set to compete at the Penn State National Invitational - one of the most highly anticipated events of the entire indoor season - this Friday and Saturday, at Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track. The competition, in its ninth year, will welcome well over 1000 athletes from nearly 50 different schools in a meet that has perennially produced some of the top marks in the NCAA.
The outstanding field is scheduled to feature a flurry of teams ranked in the USTFCCCA preseason poll, including men's and women's teams from Tennessee, who are both ranked No. 3 nationally, the No. 10-ranked Virginia Tech women, and the Hokies' No. 25 men's squad, as well the No. 18 Villanova women. Division II powerhouse St. Augustine's will also be attendance.
One of the most anticipated events is undoubtedly the men's mile run, which will feature Nittany Lion rookie sensation Samuel Borchers (Yellow Springs, Ohio), Penn State alum and sub-four-minute-man Matt Lincoln, as well as Pittsburgh's Sam Bair, who has been flirting with the four-minute barrier for his entire collegiate career.
Borchers, last year's top high school miler at 4:03.33, outlasted Bair in a sizzling stretch duel in the 1,000-meters at last weekend's Penn State Open, with Borchers finishing in an outstanding 2:22.42 to shatter the previous Penn State record - a standard previously held by Lincoln. Lincoln and Bair have a long standing rivalry, after being locked in a pair of epic battles at the Penn State National. Bair came out on top in 2006, running 4:00.14, and Lincoln returning the favor with a 3:59.39 meet- and facility-record run in 2007. Nittany Lion junior Brian Fuller (Camp Hill, Pa.) is also poised for a hot race after clocking a personal-best 4:08.20 at the National Invitational last season.
The women's mile run is shaping up to be just as exciting with the likes of standout Nittany Lion sophomore and last year's Big Ten Freshman of the Year Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio), Tennessee All-American Sarah Bowman, Virginia's Emily Harrison, a top 10 finisher at the NCAA Cross Country Championships, and Villanova's Akilah Vargas. Franek has been running well in the early goings of the 2008 campaign, posting a PR 2:29.92 to win the 1000 at the Penn State Open.
The Nittany Lions will also look to showcase their stuff in the middle distances with senior and 2006 Big Ten Champion Mark Miller (Shillington, Pa.), and newcomer Lionel Williams (Staten Island, N.Y.) running in the 800-meters. Williams and Miller went 2-3 in the 600-meters last weekend, going 1:18.92, and 1:19.24, respectively. Miller and Williams will be up against an outstanding half mile field, including Navy All-American Paul Harris, who has already posted an NCAA provisional qualifier in the event.
Senior Briene Simmons (Decatur, Ga.) will also open up in the half mile this weekend, after scoring a seventh-place finish in her signature event at the 2007 national meet. Simmons officially cemented herself as the queen of Penn State middle distances last weekend, setting the Nittany Lion 600 record. Simmons now holds Penn State indoor standards in the 600, 800, and 1000.
Junior Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.) has also had a hot start to her 2008 season, winning the hurdles in the Lions' first two meets, bettering the NCAA provisional standard on both occasions. Barber's 7.75 (8.32 converted) effort in the 55-meter hurdles at the Penn State Relays on Jan. 12, lowered her own Nittany Lion record and is currently ranked eighth in the NCAA. Barber, a two-time NCAA All-American, will duke it out with a national-class 60-meter hurdle field that includes a total of four athletes in the NCAA top 10. Virginia Tech will enter national qualifiers Kristi Castlin and Queen Harrison, who have run 8.16, and 8.34, respectively, while North Carolina will send freshman LaToya James, another 8.34 entrant. Senior Ron Jules (Tom's River, N.J.) is also amongst an elite field in the men's hurdles, with Pittsburgh's Mike Wray, and Maryland's Dominic Berger making the trip. Berger was third at NCAA indoors in 2007, while Wray was seventh. Berger's 7.89 is currently sixth on the NCAA list.
Freshman Shavon GReaves (Lakewood, N.J.), who set the Nittany Lion 55-meter dash record two weeks ago, will get her first chance to compete against some of the top collegians in the nation in the short sprints, as the women's 60-meter field includes Tennessee All-Americans Lynne Layne, Courtney Champion, and Cleo Tyson, who also holds the meet record in the event. The women's 200-meters will be another one of the weekend's premiere events again featuring Tennessee's top sprinters, as well as Virginia Tech speedsters Patrice Potts and Brittany Spruill. Greaves, who ran 24.08 last weekend, is also likely to get a big piece of the one lap race.
The men's and women's 400-meters are also loaded up front with senior All-American Dominique Blake (Bronx, N.Y.) leading the way for the Nittany Lions. Blake won the quarter at the Penn State Open last week, leading a Nittany Lion sweep of the event. This weekend, Blake will face off against the likes of Virginia Tech's Harrison and former LSU Tiger Cynethiea Rooks. The hot heat of the men's race will be just as exciting as Bershawn Jackson - the 2005 World Champion in the 400-meter hurdles - entered in the competition.
The weekend's events will also include the 2008 debut of Nittany Lion All-American Ryan Fritz (Parkesburg, Pa.) in the high jump. Fritz's personal-best 7-3.25 (2.22m) at the NCAA Indoor Championships last year was good for fifth place and his first-career All-America citation. Fritz won't be lacking competition in his season opener, as this weekend's field includes a handful of seven-footers, including St. Augustine's Joe Kindred, one of the top-rated high jumpers in Division II.
In the men's weight throw, senior Tyler Hoffman (Lewisburg, Pa.) will do battle with North Carolina's Walter Henning - last year's Track and Field News High School Athlete of the Year, while senior Helen Higgins (Waynesburg, Pa.) and junior Emma Schmelzer will have their hands full in the women's throwing events. The women's shot put competition should be one of the best of a weekend with Tennesee's Annie Alexander, and Virginia Tech's Brittany Pryor - who are both ranked in the NCAA's top five - scheduled to competed. The women's weight will be just as explosive with NCAA provisional throwers Ashley Harbin of Lafayette, and Virginia Tech's Kristen Callan in the mix.
The Nittany Lion jumps contingent is also primed for a big weekend, with senior Lena Bettis (Riverside, Calif.) - a double winner at the Penn State Open - and freshman standout Gabriela Baiter (Greenlawn, N.Y.) leading the way. The trio of Ryan Taylor (Spanish Town, Jamaica), Clarence Smith (Coatesville, Pa.), and Jay Pagana (Danville, Pa.) will look for big jumps on the men's side.
The weekend's events kick off with the men's heptathlon and the women's pentathlon, beginning on Friday at 12 p.m. The multi-events will likely be a fine opener to an outstanding weekend as both the men's and women's field will feature numerous All-Americans and NCAA qualifiers.
Nearly half of the 14-women pentathlon field was on the NCAA list in 2007, while Penn State record holder and outdoor All-American Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.), Boston College's Kasey Hill, and Connecticut's Tamara Highsmith advanced to the NCAA Indoor Championships last year. Other athletes to watch in the tremendous field are Georgetown's Buki Bamigboye, BC's Tiana Riel, and New Mexico's Sandy Fortner.
The men's event will be headlined by a trio of Tennessee Volunteers, including Jangy Addy, last year's NCAA bronze medalist in the decathlon. Penn State alum Ryan Olkowski will also be in the thick of it after winning the competition two of the last three years, while 2006 champion and NCAA provisional qualifier in the decathlon Chris Morrisey (Ligonier, Pa.), as well as senior Shawn Colligan (Bradford, Pa.) will also be in the hunt for high finishes and PR performances.
Fans can follow all the action via LIVE results at www.gopsusports.com.