May 16, 2009
COLUMBUS, Ohio: May 15, 2009 - Thanks to a silver-medal effort from Emma Schmelzer (Bloomington, Ill.) and scoring performances from Caitlin Fairbairn (Coatesville, Pa.) and Tyler McCandless (Bath, Pa.), the Nittany Lion track and field men's and women's teams are well on their way to stellar team finishes at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, Friday at Jesse Owens Stadium on the campus of Ohio State University. With one day of the multi-events in the books, senior Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.) and freshman Anya Uzoh (Laurel, Md.) are also in good standing, as Hunter is within striking distance of the conference heptathlon crown in third position after four events, while Uzoh sits sixth with five decathlon events completed.
Schmelzer recorded a personal-best toss of 179-06 (54.71) on her second attempt to take second place overall and add eight points to the Lions' team total. The Nittany Lion women are in fourth place with three events in the books, while Minnesota is out to the early lead with 38. The Golden Gophers are also tops in the men's standings after day one with 27 points. The Nittany Lion men are currently tied for seventh with three points.
McCandless ran tough in one of the sport's most grueling events, finishing the 10,000-meters in 30:47.14 - good for sixth-place overall. The occasion marked the second time that McCandless has recorded a top eight scoring finish at the Big Ten Championships.
Scoring a top eight finish for the first time in her Big Ten career was Caitlin Fairbairn (Coatesville, Pa.), who tied for sixth in the pole vault. After passing the first bar, Fairbairn was clean through the next three heights, topping out at 12-7.50 (3.85) on the day. The clearance also tied a personal best.
Hunter's career-best day one total of 3479 points put her third after the opening four events, just six points out of the second, and just over 100 points out of first and well within striking distance. Hunter posted the best marks of the day in the 100-meter hurdles (13.77) and 200-meters (23.56), and also recorded a personal-outdoor best in the shot put at 40-0 (12.19).
Uzoh opened the day in style, running 11.07 in the 100-meters - the fastest mark in the field. Uzoh sits in sixth place with 3623 points after five events - just over 60 points out of fourth place.
Day two begins with the decathlon 110-meter hurdles, set for 9:30 a.m. on Saturday. Hunter gets the women going in the heptathlon long jump, set for 10:15 a.m.