Feb. 15, 2008
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - Senior Shana Cox (Westbury, N.Y.), in just her second week of competition this season, proved she's one of the leading candidates for this year's NCAA 400-meter title, blazing to a national-collegiate leading time of 52.57, Friday at the Tyson Invitational at Randal Tyson Track Center. Teammate Dominique Blake (Bronx, N.Y.) also shined in the quarter mile, posting a lifetime-best 53.13, to shave nearly a full second of her previous PR. Counting all the marks run at Tyson, Blake, who finished eighth in the preliminaries, is now ranked seventh in the NCAA. Both sprint stars also qualified for tomorrow's 400 final.
Cox finished third overall, behind professionals Monica Hargrove (52.34), and Moya Thompson (52.56). Also running well was sophomore Fawn Dorr (Akron, N.Y.), who finished 26th in a field of nearly 100 entrants, running 54.92 - just two one-thousandths off her career best. Freshman Lionel Williams (Staten Island, N.Y.) also posted a PR on the day, clocking a collegiate-career best 48.24 in the men's qualifying heats.
"We had great efforts from both Shana and Dominique, running some of the top times in the nation and showing that we are very ready to compete at the national level," said Director of Track and Field Beth Alford-Sullivan. "We also saw some great things from our milers, who showed great consistency and that they are ready to make a dent at the upcoming Big Ten Championships."
Senior Mark Miller (Shillington, Pa.) provided a spark in the middle distances, posting a provisional-qualifying 1:49.43 to finish seventh in the Olympic Development 800-meters. Miller's performance is the best in the Big Ten this season, as well as the ninth-fastest nationally. Williams would post his second career-best on the day finishing ninth in 1:50.56 - just six one thousandths off the provisional status.
Junior Aleesha Barber's (Decatur, Ga.) 8.34 performance in the 60-meter hurdles was the ninth-fastest in qualifying, good for a slot in tomorrow's final rounds and one of an astounding 14 provisional marks in the preliminaries. So far this season, Barber has dipped under the provisional standard on an impressive five occasions. Senior Ron Jules (Tom's River, N.J.) was the top Lion finisher in the men's hurdles, as the senior won his heat in 8.08, finishing 19th overall - just short of a lane in tomorrow's two-section final.
The Lions were three-for-three for personal bests in the women's mile championship, with Leah Rosenfeld (Ridgefield, Conn.) leading the way with an impressive 4:49.14. Rosenfeld mounted a late charge to move from the middle of the pack to place second overall, chipping nearly five seconds off her previous PR, and coming up just over a second shy of the NCAA provisional standard. Claire Percival (Sarnia, Ontario) followed in fifth in 4:51.86, with Meghan Noecker (Reading, Pa.) finishing seventh in 4:53.45 - big PRs for both athletes.
Junior Brian Fuller (Camp Hill, Pa.) was also solid in the men's championship section, taking ninth overall in 4:07.42. Teammate Tim Johnson (New Cumblerland, Pa.) placed sixth in the open section of the men's mile, running a personal-best 4:11.30.
Also in the distances, sophomore Cheryl Spring (The Woodlands, Texas) dipped under the 17-minute barrier in the 5,000-meters, going 16:59.64 to finish ninth in the championship section - an outstanding effort in her first career attempt at the distance. Freshman Lucas Zarzeczny (Pittsburgh, Pa.) placed seventh in the men's championship 5K in 14:44.35.
In the field, freshman Blake Eaton (Allegeny, N.Y.) threw his way to the men's shot put final, where he place seventh in an outstanding field with a mark of 55-02.75 (16.83). Classmate Joe Kovacs (Nazareth, Pa.) finished 11th with a toss of 53-11 (16.43).
Action at the Tyson Invitational continues this evening with the invitational portion of events, including the Nittany Lion 4x400-meter relay, scheduled for 8 p.m. The meet picks back up Saturday morning at 10 a.m.
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