SOUTH BEND, Ind.: March 6, 2009 - The Nittany Lion men's distance medley relay team has guaranteed itself a spot at the NCAA Indoor Championships, thanks to an automatic-qualifying performance at Friday's Alex Wilson Invitational at the University of Notre Dame. The Nittany Lions sped to a time of 9:32.94, bettering the automatic standard by just over a second and breaking the Penn State school record in the process.
Sophomore Samuel Borchers (Yellow Springs, Ohio) led off on the 1200-meter leg with an unofficial 2:54.0 split, followed by junior Mike Cadau (Mahanoy City, Pa.) on the 400-meters in 46.7. Sophomore Ryan Foster (Tasmania, Australia) then covered the 800-meter leg in 1:49.0, with senior Tim Johnson (New Cumberland, Pa.) closing in 4:02 on the 1600-meter anchor.
"This is great momentum for the men's program," said Director of Track and Field and Head Coach Beth Alford-Sullivan. "Its just a great moment for these guys to break the school record and make the national championships. We couldn't be more excited to make the trip from State College to College Station."
The Lions mark bettered the previous Penn State record of 9:36.29, set by Matt Lincoln, Jaret Campisi, Dan Michael, and Chris Foster during the 2005 season.
The Alex Wilson distance medley field was one of the more impressive races in recent history, as the top 15 teams bettered the auto qualifier, led by Virginia in 9:29.86. The Lions posted a 14th-place finish overall.
Last chance weekend continues tomorrow, as the Nittany Lions are slated to compete at the Virginia Tech Last Chance, as well as Notre Dame.