May 13, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.: May 13, 2008 - Riding the momentum of an already successful season, the Nittany Lion women's track and field team will look to add a conference championship trophy to its list of accomplishments this weekend at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, hosted by the University of Illinois. The Nittany Lions have engineered an impressive stretch of conference finishes over the last five years, placing among the top three teams every year since 2003, and are poised and ready to make another title run this season. Only one other team in the Big Ten - Michigan - can claim the same level of conference consistency. The Nittany Lions were rated 14th in last week's USTFCCCA rankings, while Minnesota - the top-rated team in the conference - was ranked ninth, with Michigan appearing at 18th.
"Our women's team is fully prepared to do what it takes and execute a championship drive," said Director of Track and Field Beth Alford-Sullivan. "Each team member is poised and ready for the competition, understands their individual expectations, and will lay it all on the line for the program and their teammates. We'll definitely have our work cut out for us with Michigan is the front-running favorite, and Minnesota is coming off a great win indoors. Led by our outstanding seniors, our team will put every effort forward in their drive for this championship."
Sprints, Hurdles, Relay
The Nittany Lion sprints/hurdles contingent will be at full steam this weekend, led by 12-time Big Ten Champion Shana Cox (Westbury, N.Y.), who not only claimed three conference victories indoors, but was named Athlete of the Championship for her efforts. Cox has continued to blast through the competition this outdoor season, coming into the weekend with the top rated marks in both the 200- and 400-meters. Cox, who is ranked sixth nationally in the quarter mile and undefeated in the event this season, has marks 23.36, and 52.45 on the books this year, is seeded nearly a half a second faster than the rest of the field in both her individual events.
"I would like for us to go out there and execute in each of their events, and approach the meet like its going to be perfect," said Cox, a senior captain. "This is our last time as such a unique team and we really have the confidence to be very successful as a team this weekend."
Right behind Cox is teammate Dominique Blake (Bronx, N.Y.), who boasts the second-fastest time in the 400 field at 52.91, after finishing third in the event indoors. Cox and Blake, will be joined by teammates Shavon GReaves (Lakewood, N.J.), and Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.) in the 200, which is shaping up to be another of the Lions' strongest events as the foursome enters the weekend with four of the top 10 fastest seed times in the event. Greaves will also look to build upon her Freshman of the Year performance indoors by giving the Lions a spark in the 100-meters, coming in as the third seed in the event with a wind-aided 11.69.
"I feel very positive right now," said Blake, also a team captain. "This is my class's last opportunity to win a team championship and I think it's just a matter of execution and confidence right now. I'm very hopeful and expect to come out on top."
In the hurdles, Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.), comes into the weekend with the second-fastest performance in the 100-meter hurdles at 13.21, and will aim to provide a repeat performance in the 400-meter hurdles after a Big Ten Championship effort in 2007. Barber will lead a trio of Lions in the 400 hurdles, along with newcomers Fawn Dorr (Akron, N.Y.), and Megan Duncan (North Huntingdon, Pa.). Dorr boasts the third-fastest time in the conference with a PR 58.77, followed by Duncan in fifth at 59.53, and Barber rated seventh at 59.92.
The Lions are the overwhelming favorite in the 4x400-meter relay following a record-breaking victory at the Penn Relays last month, with the team of Blake, Barber, Hunter and Cox, clocking a speedy school-record 3:31.44 - the second-fastest performance in the nation this year. The Lions have been on quite a winning streak in the event, winning the last two outdoor titles in the mile relay and the last five overall (including indoors).
Distances
Last year's Big Ten Freshman of the Year Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) will hope to continue her streak of Big Ten success after a pair of fourth-place finishes indoors, and a pair of bronze medals at the 2007 Outdoor Championships. Franek, an NCAA All-American indoors, has run the second-fastest 3,000-meter steeplechase in the Big Ten this season, and will also come back to run the 5,000-meters. Franek was a national qualifier in the steeplechase last spring and is also the school record holder in the event at 9:59.21. Teammates Claire Percival (Sarnia, Ontario) and Cheryl Spring (The Woodlands, Texas) will also look to make a splash in the event, both coming in with top 10 performances and regional-qualifying marks.
"We all know what we need to do to get things done," said Franek, the Lion's third tri-captain. "We've all worked very hard and now we just need to go out and do it!"
Hoping to continue her breakout sophomore year will be Leah Rosenfeld (Ridgefield, Conn.), who owns a regional-qualifying mark of 4:25.90 in the 1500-meters. Rosenfeld brought home an eighth-place finish in the indoor mile at the conference meet this winter. Teammates Meghan Noecker (Reading, Pa.) and Kathryn Fitzgerald (Pittsburgh, Pa.), who have both been running strong all spring, will also run the 1500.
Senior Briene Simmons (Decatur, Ga.) has been a mainstay near the top of the heap in the 800-meters over her career and will look to post another scoring performance this season. Simmons is ranked among the top 10 entrants in this year's race, after finishing fourth a year ago.
Jumps
Hunter, who is in for a busy weekend, will lead the Nittany Lion jumps after posting a personal-best 20-10 (6.35) at the Jesse Owens Classic two weeks ago. Hunter's mark is the second best in the Big Ten. Teammates Bianca Fung (North Babylon, N.Y.) and Lena Bettis (Riverside, Calif.) will also aim to get in on the scoring, as both athletes are already regional qualifiers in the event. Hunter and Bettis will both come back in the triple jump with Bettis leading the way at 41-08.50 (12.71) - the fourth-best effort in the conference. Freshman Gabriela Baiter (Greenlawn, N.Y.), a provisional qualifier indoors, will also compete in the triple jump.
Throws
One of the Lions' best events of the entire weekend will be the women's javelin, led by freshman sensation Karlee McQuillen (Johnstown, Pa.). McQuillen's PR 176-0 (53.64) is not only the third best in the Big Ten, fifth best in the NCAA, but is also an American Junior Record, set at the Sun Angel Classic last month. Teammates Heidi Nadeau (North Hampton, N.H.), last year's conference runner up, and Kim Hanslovan (Luthersburg, Pa.) will finish out the 1-2-3 Lion punch, coming in with the fifth and seventh rated throws.
Junior Emma Schmelzer (Bloomington, Ill.) enters the meet as the top rated Lion in shot put, discus, and hammer throw. Schmelzer, a regional qualifier in both the shot and discus, gave a sensational performance indoors, popping a huge PR to finish second in the shot put.
Heptathlon
Hunter will be the lone Lion entrant in the heptathlon, competing in her first multi-event competition of the season. Hunter, who has been a perennial power in the multi-events during her Nittany Lion career, is coming off a fifth-place finish in the pentathlon at the NCAA Indoor Championships, and an eighth-place effort at the NCAA Outdoor meet in 2007. Hunter was also the seventh-place finisher in the heptathlon at last year's USA Outdoor Championships. Her PR 5711 is a Penn State record.
Women's events begin with the heptathlon at 12:15 p.m., on Friday. Live scoring will be available at www.cfpitiming.com. Check www.GoPSUsports.com at the conclusion of each day's events for full results and Nittany Lion recaps.