April 22, 2008
PHILADELPHIA, Pa.: April 22, 2008 - Halfway through the men's decathlon competition at the prestigious Penn Relays, Nittany Lion junior Chris Morrisey (Ligonier, Pa.) stands in first place five events remaining, Tuesday at Franklin Field. Already off to a fine start in 2008, Morrisey is looking to win his second-straight decathlon title at the historic event, and will begin day two with a 3721, 210 points ahead of the rest of the field. Sophomore R.J. Slater (Pittsburgh, Pa.) is in fifth place with 3169 points in his first-career decathlon, while senior Shawn Colligan (Bradford, Pa.), who was in second place after four events, was forced to withdraw from the competition due to illness.
Morrisey and Colligan started the day with a bang, running the two fastest 100-meter times of the day, finishing in 11.18, and 11.28, respectively - a season best for Morrisey. Slater ended up eighth in the standings, running a PR 12.04. Colligan would go on to post the day's top mark in the long jump with a season-best 21-10.75 (6.67). Morrisey followed in third, recording a leap of 21-10.25 (6.66) - also his best effort of the season. Slater had the fifth-best effort of the competition with a mark of 21-2 (6.45).
Bridget Franek ran on the school-record 4x1500 in 2007. |
After a 40-02 (12.24) effort from Morrisey, a 37-11 (11.57) performance from Colligan, and a mark of 36-06.25 (11.13) from Slater in the shot put, the Nittany Lions bounced back with a one-two finish in the high jump, with Colligan clearing 6-4 (1.93) - a career best - and Morrisey recording a clearance of 6-2.75 (1.90). Slater topped out at 5-10 (1.78) in the event. Morrisey would close out day one, running 49.64 in the 400-meters - the best performance in the field - while Slater ran 53.14 to finish out the afternoon. Action will pick up again tomorrow morning, with the 110-meter hurdles scheduled to begin at 10 a.m., Thursday.
Weekend Preview
The 114th running of the one of the most storied events in track and field officially kicks off on Thursday, with several Penn State athletes and relays in contention for Penn Relays victories. Action begins on Thursday morning, with mostly women's action taking center stage.
The Nittany Lions will focus their attention on the distance medley relay, and the 4x400-meter relay trials. The distance medley looks to be one of the most competitive events of the entire weekend, with 2008 NCAA Indoor DMR Champion Tennessee, indoor runner-up Michigan, Villanova, and North Carolina scheduled to compete.
"We're very excited for Penn Relays this year," said Penn State Director of Track and Field and head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan. "The way things are shaping up, we'll have four opportunities to contend for school records and top finishes in the women's DMR, 4x400, and 4x1500, and the men's 4x800."
Penn State will field a fully-loaded squad including nine-time All-American Shana Cox (Westbury, N.Y.) on the 400-meter leg, and half-mile specialist, and two-time All-American Briene Simmons (Decatur, Ga.) on the 800-meters. Slated to run the 1600-meter anchor is sophomore Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio), a two-time All-American and last year's Penn Relays steeplechase champion. Sophomore Leah Rosenfeld (Ridgefield, Conn.) will likely lead off on the 1200-meters for the Lions, and looks to be poised for a good opening leg as she already has a regional-qualifying 4:25.90 1500 on her resume this season. Cox, Simmons, and Franek were all members of Penn State's school-record setting 11:14.78 indoor squad in 2007, and have their hopes on claiming another line in the Nittany Lion record book. The long-standing outdoor DMR record, which was set in 1981, is 11:09.50.
The 4x400 is also ready for a big performance Penn, coming off of an impressive 3:32.90 at the Sun Angel Classic two weeks ago. The Lions have a wealth of solid sprinters to cover both the preliminary and final rounds, including Cox, Dominique Blake (Bronx, N.Y.), Simmons, Fawn Dorr (Akron, N.Y.), Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.), Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.), Shavon GReaves (Lakewood, N.J.), and Megan Duncan (North Huntingdon, N.Y.). Blake is the sixth-ranked 400 runner nationally, after running a PR 52.91 at Arizona State. Barber, who set the school record (13.27) in the 100-meter hurdles at Sun Angel, will be one of the top competitors in the short hurdles this weekend after finishing sixth in 2007.
The Lions have yet to finish outside of first place in a mile relay this year, but will have their hands full this weekend with national-leader LSU, and perennial-relay powers Texas, and Texas A&M scheduled to compete. LSU has run the fastest (3:29.28) and second-fastest times in the NCAA this year, while performances from Texas A&M, Texas, and Penn State are ranked third, fourth, and fifth, respectively. Adding a little international flavor to the competition will be Jamaica's G.C. Foster College, which is entered at a speedy 3:31.33.
The Nittany Lion men have their sights set on an outstanding showing in the 4x800-meter relay, with a team that features four of the top middle distances standouts in the Big Ten. The Penn State squad is scheduled to include indoor Big Ten half-mile champ and 2008 NCAA regional qualifier Mark Miller (Shillington, Pa.), freshman star Samuel Borchers (Yellow Springs, Ohio), classmate Lionel Williams (Staten Island, N.Y.), and sophomore Mike Cadau (Mahanoy City, Pa.). Miller's 1:49.51 currently leads the Big Ten Conference, while Borchers' 1:49.94 is ranked third. 2007 winner Columbia is back at full strength this year, while middle-distance powerhouses Texas, Arkansas, Tennessee, and LSU are also entered in the race.
"I really think that this will be a championship year for the women," said Sullivan. "We are focused on bringing home a Penn Relays wheel, which has never happened for our women's program. I also think that our men will be a real upset contender in the men's 4x800."
The women's 4x1500-meter relay is coming off of an outstanding effort in 2007, when the team of Meghan Noecker (Reading, Pa.), Franek, Rosenfeld, and Claire Percival (Sarnia, Ontario) ran a school-record 17:57.28 to finish sixth in a stellar field. This year's top entrants include Michigan, who set a collegiate record in the event in 2007, Georgetown, Tennessee, Villanova, and Duke.
The Lions will have several chances at Penn Relays titles in the field events, including freshman Karlee McQuillen (Johnstown, Pa.), who recently set the American Junior Record in the women's javelin at 176-0 (53.64). McQuillen, and 2007 runner-up Heidi Nadeau (North Hampton, N.H.), will undoubtedly face their toughest competition of the season as many of the countries' top athletes will be in attendance, including conference rival Kara Patterson of Purdue, who is currently ranked third in the country. McQuillen's top distance is the fifth best in the NCAA.
2008 regional qualifiers Blake Eaton (Allegeny, N.Y.) and Tyler Hoffman (Lewisburg, Pa.) will also represent the Lions in Championship of America sections in the field, qualifying for the event's highlighted flights in the shot put and hammer throw, respectively. On the women's side, Emma Schmelzer (Bloomington, Ill.) will take on the championship shot put field.
Aleesha Barber finished sixth in the 100-meter hurdles at the 2007 Penn Relays. |
"All of our athletes are charged and ready for the weekend," continued Sullivan. "We're really set up to have a lot of success at the Distance Carnival in the steeplechases and the 5Ks, and our field event athletes are set up to bring home Penn Relays wins."
Log onto www.GoPSUsports.com for Nittany Lion recaps and full results following each day's competition. The Relays are scheduled to conclude on Saturday, April 26.