UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.: March 5, 2009 - With the most successful Big Ten campaign in program history under their belts, the Nittany Lion track and field teams will look to go to the well one more time this weekend, traveling to last chance qualifiers at Notre Dame and Virginia Tech. The weekend will serve as the final opportunity for athletes to attain qualifying marks, prior to the NCAA Indoor Championships on March 13-14.
Members of the Nittany Lion sprints, jumps, and throws contingents will make the trip to Blacksburg, Va., hoping to ride the momentum from their Big Ten successes. The Lion travel squad is set to include sophomore Shavon GReaves (Lakewood, N.J.), who won Big Ten titles in the 60- and 200-meters last weekend. Greaves is currently ranked in the top 25 nationally in both events. Also slated to compete is senior Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.) - last weekend's Big Ten Runner Up in the 60-meter hurdles. Barber's 8.28 is the 17th-fastest time in the country this season.
Senior Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.), who is already an automatic qualifier in the pentathlon, will look to the meet for a final tune-up prior to the national meet. Hunter, who is an NCAA qualifier in five events, will compete in the long jump in Blacksburg. Also competing in the jumps is Big Ten Triple Jump Clarence Smith (Coatesville, Pa.). Smith, who won his second-straight indoor conference title last weekend, is currently ranked 16th on the national descending order list.
| |
In the throws, senior Emma Schmelzer (Bloomington, Ill.) will look for improvement in both the shot put and weight throw after a tremendous performance last weekend. Schmelzer rose to the occasion at the conference meet, claiming runner-up honors in the weight, and finishing fifth in the shot put.
The Nittany Lions will send their middle distance and distance runners to Notre Dame, where standouts Samuel Borchers (Yellow Springs, Ohio), Ryan Foster (Tasmania, Australia), Owen Dawson (Coatesville, Pa.) and Lionel Williams (Staten Island, N.Y.) will get one last shot to make the NCAA field. Borchers, who finished fifth in the Big Ten mile, is currently sitting comfortably in 10th nationally in the 800-meters with a personal-best 1:48.90.
Foster and Dawson - who both have NCAA provisional marks to their credit - posted a one-two sweep in the Big Ten 800 last weekend, and will both look to improve their times at Notre Dame. Williams' chances at NCAAs are also within reach, as he currently stands 17th nationally in the half mile.
Action in South Bend begins on Friday, March 6, and runs through Saturday, March 7, while the competition at Virginia Tech is set for Saturday only. Log onto www.gopsusports.com for full results and Nittany Lion recaps follow both days of competition.
Follow on Twitter: http://twitter.com/JessRiden