May 2, 2008
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Freshman standout Samuel Borchers (Yellow Springs, Ohio) bettered the NCAA regional qualify standard in the 1,500-meters, highlighting a solid night of performances for the Nittany Lion track and field team, Friday at the Jesse Owens Track Classic at Ohio State University. Junior Claire Percival (Toronto, Ontario) also inched up the NCAA list with a season-best run in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
"I was exciting to see the amazing kick that Sam can put together and extend his season to the first round of the NCAA Championships," said Director of Track and Field Beth Alford-Sullivan.
Borchers posted a third-place finish in an outstanding 1500 field, running a personal-collegiate best 3:47.32. Borchers was particularly impressive in her first experience of the season against Big Ten competition, finishing second among conference opponents. Teammate Tim Johnson (New Cumberland, Pa.) turned in a ninth-place effort in the race, finishing with a PR 3:52.07. Junior Meghan Noecker (Reading, Pa.) placed sixth in the women's field with a career-best 4:29.71, while classmate Kathryn Fitzgerald (Pittsburgh, Pa.) also PR'd with a time of 4:32.87 to finish eighth.
"Tim is poised for a great breakthrough as he continues to PR," continued Sullivan. "We also got very exciting races from Meghan and Kathryn. These young ladies continue to impress me with their abilities and competiveness in every race situation with Meghan getting with a second and half of the regional mark and Kathryn running another big PR."
Percival managed a top five standing in the steeplechase, finishing as the top collegiate in the field with a season-best 10:38.14. Percival has bettered the NCAA regional standard in the event on three occasions this season. On the men's side, John Mahoney (Richboro, Pa.) placed 19th overall, running a near-PR 9:13.28.
Sophomore Adam Thielemann (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) was the top performer in the field, placing 17th in the discus with a personal-best 160-5 (48.89). Teammate Cory Eck (State College, Pa.) placed 23rd in the same event with a toss of 154-2 (47.00).
Competition continues in Columbus on Saturday, with the collegiate events scheduled to get underway at 3:30 p.m.