May 17, 2009
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Nittany Lion men's track and field team had an outstanding on day two of the Big Ten Outdoor Championships, Saturday at Jesse Owens Memorial Stadium, sending many of its competitors through to Sunday's finals, and receiving scoring performances from several of its top athletes. A pair of Lions recorded top five finishes in the respective events, including Ryan Fritz (Parkesburg, Pa.) in the high jump and Clarence Smith (Coatesville, Pa.) in the long jump.
Smith - a two-time conference champion in the triple jump - proved that he is also one to watch in the long jump, taking fifth-place overall, vaulting from seventh to fifth place on his final attempt. After qualifying for the nine-man final, Smith launched a career-best 23-02.50 (7.07) on his sixth and final attempt - good for his first-career scoring performance in the event.
Elsewhere, Fritz notched a fourth-place finish in the high jump, posting a clearance of 6-11.75 (2.13). After passing the first height, Fritz was clean over the next four bars, solidifying his spot among the top four finishers, and adding five points to the Nittany Lion total.
The Nittany Lions are currently ninth in the team standings after seven events, ending day two with a total of 12 points. Minnesota leads with 67, followed by Indiana with 41, and Purdue with 30.
Running in the fourth of four preliminary heats of the 800-meters, Nittany Lion trio Owen Dawson (Coatesville, Pa.), Ryan Foster (Tasmania, Australia), and Lionel Williams (Staten Island, N.Y.) each provided a flurrying finishing kick to one-two-three finish in their section and advance to tomorrow's final. Dawson won the heat with a PR 1:49.58 - the fastest effort of the afternoon - while Foster finished in 1:49.64, and Williams crossed the line in 1:49.89.
Senior Tim Johnson (New Cumberland, Pa.) also found a spot in the Sunday finals, qualifying in the 1500-meters with a preliminary time of 3:53.20. Likewise, junior Mike Cadau (Mahanoy City, Pa.) is still alive in the hunt for a Big Ten title, as he clocked a heat-winning 46.59 to advance to tomorrow's 400-meter final.
Smith, Cadau, and teammates Hanif Johnson (Harrisburg, Pa.) and Ryan Taylor (Spanish Town, Jamaica) will also get to give it another go in the 4x100-meter final after qualifying through the preliminaries.
Action continues on the final day of the conference championships on Sunday, beginning with the men's pole vault at 10:30 a.m.