DES MOINES, Iowa- Despite a rain delay that lasted over two hours, the NCAA Track and Field Championships are underway on Wednesday on the campus of Drake University. The Nittany Lions had an outstanding day in the preliminary rounds, as Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio), Shana Cox (Westbury, N.Y.), Dominique Blake (Bronx, N.Y.), and Fawn Dorr (Akron, N.Y.) will all advance to the semi-final rounds in their respective events, while Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.) will move on to tomorrow's long jump final after jumping the automatic-qualifying distance. Junior Emma Schmelzer (Bloomington, Ill.) will also advance in the discus. Senior Shawn Colligan (Bradford, Pa.) - in his first-career NCAA appearance - got things started for the Nittany Lions in the men's decathlon, and now stands 18th overall after five events.
"We had an excellent first day, qualifying all the women through the opening rounds," said Director of Track and Field Beth Alford-Sullivan. "Everyone executed their race plans and competition strategies in a first-class manner. We're excited to start day two and continue our press towards a great finish during this championship weekend."
Running out of lane three, Cox quickly ate up the stagger on the rest of her competitors in the 400-meter heats, shooting out to a comfortable advantage by 300-meters, and calmly cruised down the homestretch to earn the heat win and automatic spot in the final, clocking 52.55. Blake managed to advance on time, after running 53.44 to place third in her section. The 400 semi-finals will run on Friday at 8:15 pm CT. Dorr came on strong off the last hurdle to finish in 58.19 - the second-fastest performance of her career - and advance to tomorrow's 16-women semi-final. Dorr's effort, which was good for third place in her preliminary heat, was tied for the seventh fastest of the day. Dorr will have a quick turnaround to the semi's, which are set for 5:45 p.m., tomorrow evening.
Franek also cruised through the opening round, leading for most of the way in her heat of the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Franek would end up first in her heat, fending off a late charge from USC's Zsofia Erdelyi, with the Nittany Lion winning by a nose - 10:13.36 to 10:13.38. Franek's mark was the third fastest in qualifying. The final round of the event is set for Friday, at 7:25 p.m. CT.
In the field, Hunter advanced through to tomorrow's final with a wind-aided leap of 21-02.00 (6.45), which matched the automatic standard to advance to the final. Hunter competed well in an extremely talented field, in which 11 of Thursday's 12 finalists advanced via an automatic mark. Also holding her own in a tough competition was Schmelzer, who launched a PR 168-08 (51.40) on her first attempt, good for seventh place on the day, and a spot in Friday's 12-women final.
Colligan started the day running 11.28 in the 100-meters - the 16th-best time in the 26-man field - enough for 799 points, before severe thunderstorms delayed the meet. After the layoff, Colligan posted a leap of 20-07.75 (6.29), good for 650 points, before recording an effort of 39-09.25 (12.12) in the shot put - worth 614. Colligan then cleared 6-01.50 (1.87) - his second-highest clearance of the season - in the high jump, adding another 687 points to his total. Colligan ended the day running 49.07 in the 400-meters - the fourth fastest time of the day - accelerating away from the field to win his heat by just under a half a second to gain another 858 points. Colligan ended the day with a total of 3600 points, less than 100 points out of the top 15. Colligan will have another early start tomorrow, as the day two's opening event - the 110-meter hurdles - is set for 10:45 a.m. CT.
Day one wasn't without some heartbreak for the Lions, however, as senior Mark Miller (Shillington, Pa.) recovered from a trip up in the early goings of his 800-meter preliminary, fought his way up to be in position to advance, before suffering a devastating fall in the final 100-meters.
"Shawn ends the day with solid performances across the board with just a small gap between him and All-American status," said Sullivan of the men's team. "Unfortunately, an impediment in the final 100 was costly to Mark Miller as he was unable to execute the race he was ready to run. Mark has had an outstanding season, and this was just an unfortunate way to end his collegiate career."
Colligan will start the day of in the morning, while Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.) will compete for the first time this week in the 100-meter hurdles, while Karlee McQuillen (Johnstown, Pa.), and Heidi Nadeau (North Hampton, N.H.) will begin action in the javelin. The Lions' number-one ranked 4x400-meter relay is also slated to run tomorrow.