May 29, 2008
TALLAHASEE, Fla.: - Traveling with a squad of nearly 30 athletes, the Nittany Lion track and field teams will head to Florida State University this weekend for the NCAA East Regional Championships with trips to the NCAA Championship meet on the line. The Penn State women, coming off the program's first outdoor Big Ten title win, have their hopes on a top three finish in the team standings among East Coast competitors, while the Nittany Lion men have several entrants poised to make a trip to the NCAA Championships. The top five finishers in each event will automatically advance to NCAA Championships, while the remainder of the top 12 finishers at each of four regional meets will be placed into a pool in contention for an at-large bid to the national event.
Women's Preview
Coming off Big Ten Athlete of the Year honors, senior standout Shana Cox (Westbury, N.Y.) will compete in both the 200-meters, and 400-meters, vying for national-qualifying slots in both events. Cox enters the weekend with the second-fastest time in the region and fourth-fastest mark in the 400 in the country at 52.00. Cox is no stranger to regional success, after taking top honors in the 400 as a sophomore in 2006. Also set up for a big finish in the quarter mile is classmate Dominique Blake (Bronx, N.Y.), who the number-four seed in the region at 52.78 after a runner-up finish at the Big Ten Championships. Both Cox and Blake were individual qualifiers in the event indoors, and ran on the fifth-place 4x400-meter relay.
After knocking off Michigan's Tiffany Ofili - the defending NCAA champ in the 100-meter hurdles - at the conference meet, redshirt sophomore Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.) is poised to contend for the regional crown, entering the championships with a season-best 12.83 - the second-fastest seed in this weekend's field, and the third-best mark nationally. Barber - an All-American in the 60-meter hurdles indoors - will also look for her second-straight NCAA appearance in the 400-meter hurdles, going into the weekend with a season-best 58.96. The Lions will be more than well represented in the quarter hurdles, including Big Ten finalists Fawn Dorr (Akron, N.Y.), and Megan Duncan (North Huntingdon, Pa.). Dorr, last year's Division III champion in the event before transferring from Cortland State, boasts the fastest mark by a Lion this season at 58.77.
Blake, Barber, junior Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.), and Cox made Penn State history last month winning the 4x400 at the prestigious Penn Relays, securing the program's first coveted wheel and setting a new school record at 3:31.44 - the best time in the east region field by nearly two seconds and the second-fastest relay in the NCAA in 2008. The foursome, with senior Briene Simmons (Decatur, Ga.) on the lead off and Dorr on the third leg, found their way to the top of the medal stand at the Big Ten Championships, earning the Lions' third-straight outdoor conference victory, and sixth overall.
Hunter will be on the track and in the field in Tallahassee, going into the meet with the 10th-fastest seed in the 100 hurdles (13.49), and sixth-furthest effort in the long jump (20-10/6.35m). Hunter is already an automatic qualifier for the NCAA Championships in the heptathlon after scoring 5558 to finish third at the conference meet. The Nittany Lions will field another strong contingent in the long jump with Hunter, along with teammates Bianca Fung (North Babylon, N.Y.), and Lena Bettis (Riverside, Calif.). Bettis will double up with the triple jump, boasting the sixth-furthest leap in the field at 42-9.50 (13.04).
The Lions will field three entrants in the women's javelin, including Big Ten bronze medalist Karlee McQuillen (Johnstown, Pa.). McQuillen's PR and American Junior Record mark of 176-0 (53.64) is tops in the region and ranked sixth nationally, while teammates Kim Hanslovan (Luthersburg, Pa.), and Heidi Nadeau (North Hampton, N.H.) are both seeded in the top 10 among eastern competition.
Sophomore and fifth-time NCAA qualifier Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) will headline the women's distances after a gold-medal finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the conference meet. Franek's school-record and Big Ten championship run of 9:58.56 is the fastest in the region by over 10 seconds. She is also one of just four athletes in the NCAA to break the 10-minute barrier this season. Teammates Claire Percival (Sarnia, Ontario) and Cheryl Spring (The Woodlands, Texas) will join Franek in the steeple, while sophomore Leah Rosenfeld (Ridgefield, Conn.) will represent the Lions in the 1500-meters.
Men's Preview
The Lions will field a solid contingent on the men's side, including triple jump trio Clarence Smith (Coatesville, Pa.), Ryan Taylor (Spanish Town, Jamaica), and Jay Pagana (Danville, Pa.). Smith, the Big Ten champion indoors, headlines the group with a PR 52-2.75 (15.92) - the fourth-best mark in this weekend's competition. The trio went two-three-four at the recent Big Ten Championships, with regional-qualifying marks across the board. Taylor will also enter the long jump with a season-best 24-3.50 (7.40) to his credit.
Senior Mark Miller (Shillington, Pa.), who is coming off a silver-medal performance at the conference meet, leads the Lions in the middle distances with an 800-meter seed time of 1:49.33. Miller was the Big Ten Champion in the half mile indoors, and also took top honors at the outdoor conference meet in 2006. Freshman standout Samuel Borchers (Yellow Springs, Ohio) will take on the East Region field in the 1,500-meter following his gold-medal run at the conference meet. Borchers laid down an exciting final lap to outlast the field at the Big Ten event, and will hope for a similar performance this weekend, coming in with a season-best 3:47.32.
Senior Ron Jules (Tom's River, N.J.), who also notched a silver-medal standing at the conference championships, will make his final appearance at the regional championships, entering the 110-meter hurdles. Jules clocked a PR 13.96 at the Jesse Owens Classic earlier this month, before recording a wind-aided 13.83 in his second-place finish against Big Ten competition.
A trio a Nittany Lions will represent the Blue and White in the throws, including 2007 NCAA finalist Tanner Evak (State College, Pa.) in the javelin. Evak, who took third at the conference championships, is in solid contention to make a return trip to nationals, coming into the meet at 218-10 (66.70) - a top ten mark in the East. Senior Tyler Hoffman (Lewisburg, Pa.) will compete in the hammer throw, while freshman Blake Eaton (Allegeny, N.Y.) is entered in the shot put.
Action in Tallahassee gets underway on Friday, beginning at 1 p.m., and concludes on Saturday. Check out www.GoPSUsports.com for full Lion recaps following both days of competition.