May 17, 2009
Complete Results in PDF Format | Women's Recap
COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Penn State men's track & field team posted a strong fifth place finish at the 2009 Big Ten Track & Field outdoor championships tallying 80 points. The Nittany Lions were led by Big Ten championship performances from senior Tanner Evak (State College, Pa.) in the javelin, sophomore Ryan Foster (Tasmania, Australia) in the 800 meters and senior Clarence Smith (Coatesville, Pa.) in the triple jump.
The 800 was one of the highlights for Penn State with Foster's 1:49.66 regional qualifying mark leading the pack and teammates Owen Dawson (Downingtown, Pa.) and Lionel Williams (Staten Island, N.Y.) finishing behind him in third and fourth.
The Nittany Lions also posted a strong team finish in the triple jump, capturing first, third and fourth. Smith's winning jump was a distance of 16.12 meters while senior Jay Pagana (Selinsgrove, Pa.) took third with a 15.27-meter jump. Freshman Hanif Johnson (Harrisburg, Pa.) was fourth with a jump of 14.97 meters.
Smith also scored points in the long jump, placing fifth with a jump of 7.07 meters.
Evak's winning throw of 71.13 meters was not the only points for Penn State in that event as freshman Joe Gingerelli (Wood-Ridge, N.J.) posted an eighth-place finish for additional points for PSU.
Junior Mike Cadau (Mahanoy City, Pa.) posted a fourth-place finish in the 400 meter dash with a regional qualifying 46.74 while senior Ryan Fritz (Parkesburg, Pa.) also finished fourth in the high jump (7.07 meters).
Also scoring points for the Nittany Lions were: freshman Kyle Dawson (Downingtown, Pa.), who finished seventh in the 500 meter run; senior Tim Johnson (New Cumberland, Pa.), who placed eighth in the 1500 meter run; senior Tyler McCandless (Bath, Pa.), who placed sixth in the 10,000 meter run; and senior Dennis Pollow (Ransomville, N.Y.), who was eighth in the 500 meter run.
The 4x400 meter relay took sixth place, while the 4x100 meter relay posted an eighth-place finish.
Minnesota took the 2009 title with 130 points. Ohio State finished second with 103, while Michigan tallied 100 for third. Purdue (81), Penn State (80), Wisconsin (76), Iowa (69), Michigan State (62), Illinois (60) and Indiana (58) rounded out the field.