March 2, 2008
MADISON, Wisc. - Bolstered by winning performances from Clarence Smith (Coatesville, Pa.), and Mark Miller (Shillington, Pa.), the Nittany Lion men's track and field team recorded a fourth-place finish in the team standings, Sunday at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, at Camp Randall Sports Center. The Lions' fourth-place effort was the program's best-ever finish at the indoor conference meet.
Smith captured his first-career Big Ten title with a provisional-qualifying leap of 51-5 (15.67m) in the triple jump. In fourth place going into his final attempt, Smith soared to his career best jump, winning the competition by just a half an inch. Teammates Jay Pagana (Selinsgrove, Pa.) and Ryan Taylor (Spanish Town, Jamaica) made the triple jump one of the Lions' most productive events, scoring sixth and seventh-place finishes, with marks of 50-0.50 (15.25m), and 49-10.50 (15.20m), respectively.
Miller earned his first-career conference indoor title, and second overall in the 800-meters, running away from the field with a time of 1:52.65, bettering the rest of the field by nearly a second. Miller is the sixth Lion to earn an indoor conference title since Penn State joined the conference in 1992, and the second to win the half mile after Joe Loner won the title in 1997.
Defending champion Ryan Fritz (Parkesburg, Pa.) managed his third-straight indoor all-conference performance with a runner-up finish in the high jump. Fritz cleared a season-best 6-11 (2.11m) on his way to silver-medal honors.
Junior Chris Morrisey (Ligonier, Pa.) also posted a silver-medal effort, taking second in the heptathlon with a provisional-qualifying and career-best 5419. Morrisey's Sunday performances included a career-best clearance of 14-11 (4.55m) in the pole vault. Teammate Shawn Colligan (Bradford, Pa.) notched a sixth-place finish in the event with a personal-best total score of 5239.
Adding another silver medal finish was senior Ron Jules (Tom's River, N.J.), who clocked a season-best a provisional-qualifying 7.88 to take second in the 60-meter hurdles. Classmate Adam Stanowick (Solon, Ohio) was eighth in the race with a finishing time of 8.17.
Senior Tyler Hoffman (Lewisburg, Pa.) added to the Lion total with a fourth-place effort in the weight throw, posting a mark of 65-5 (19.94). Also providing scoring finishes were Mike Cadau (Mahanoy City, Pa.) who finished sixth in the 600-meters (1:19.60), and Samuel Borchers (Yellow Springs, Ohio), who managed a sixth-place finish in the mile (4:24.85).
With one weekend remaining before the NCAA Championships, the Nittany Lions will send some athletes to the Alex Wilson Invitational at Notre Dame and the Virginia Tech Last Chance in hopes of qualifying for the national meet. Both competitions are scheduled for Saturday, March 8.