April 23, 2008
PHILADELPHIA, Pa.: April 23, 2008 - Nittany Lion junior Chris Morrisey (Ligonier, Pa.) took top honors in the decathlon, Wednesday at the 114th running of the Penn Relays at Franklin Field. Morrisey totaled 6955 points, bettering the field by nearly 300 points for his second career Penn Relays win, while sophomore R.J. Slater (Pittsburgh, Pa.) managed a scored of 6353, good for fourth place overall.
"Chris's win is an excellent way to start of Penn Relays week for us," said Director of Track and Field Beth Alford-Sullivan. "Chris is already a provisional qualifier and this competition is definitely a good tune up for him, Shawn (Colligan), and R.J. going into the Big Ten Championships."
Starting the day with 3721 points, and a comfortable lead, Morrisey maintained his position over the day's five events, kicking off the day with an event-best 15.35 in the 110-meter hurdles. Slater was also solid in the barriers, running 16.90 - the fourth-fastest time of the day. The duo recorded third- and fourth-place efforts in the discus throw, with Slater tossing 124-00 (37.80) and Morrisey coming away with a mark of 118-04 (36.07).
"I was very impressed with R.J., he competing very, very well for his first decathlon," said multi-event coach Drew Hardyk. "Although Chris' score wasn't exactly what we were hoping for, he competed very well and did what he needed to do to win his second Penn Relays' Championship of America."
Slater would go on to clear 14-03.25 (4.35) - tying for the best jump in the field - in the pole vault, while Morrisey recorded a jump of 13-3.50 (4.35) - the third-highest effort of the day. Slater continued to say on top of the competition, recording the best throw of the afternoon in the javelin at 171-5 (51.24). Morrisey followed with a toss of 163-8 (49.89). The Nittany Lions finished off the day in the 1500-meters, with Morrisey running 4:49.26 for second in the event, and Slater crossing the line in 4:51.33 for fourth.
The Penn Relays officially begin on Thursday morning, beginning with the 400-meter hurdles at 10 a.m. The day concludes with the always competitive Distance Carnival Thursday evening. Results can be found at www.FlashResults.com.