May 3, 2009
COLUMBUS, Ohio: May 2, 2009 - After two days of competition at the Jesse Owens Classic at Ohio State University, the Nittany Lion track and field teams will add another four individuals and a relay to their NCAA regional travel party, with Megan Duncan (North Huntingdon, Pa.), Mike Cadau (Mahanoy City, Pa.), Hanif Johnson (Harrisburg, Pa.), and the women's 4x400-meter relay achieving regional-qualifying marks on Saturday, to go along with John Mahoney's (Richboro, Pa.) NCAA-regional effort from Friday night. Elsewhere, Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) would post a sensational performance at the Payton Jordan Invitational at Stanford University, bettering her own school record in the 3,000-meter steeplechase.
At Payton Jordan, Franek more than held her own in a world-class steeplechase field, going 9:43.57 to shave over 10 seconds off her previous personal best and her own Penn State record. Franek's record run was good for fourth in an elite field, where she finished second among collegians. U.S. Olympian Lindsey Anderson won the race in 9:35.30, while Michigan State's Nicole Bush finished second in 9:39.38. Franek now stands fourth in the IAAF world rankings and second among NCAA competitors in 2009. Her impressive performance also bettered the IAAF "B" standard for World Championship competition.
Meanwhile in Columbus, junior Fawn Dorr (Akron, N.Y.) had a stellar afternoon, winning the 400-meters hurdles in 58.65. Duncan followed in 1:00.27, notching her first regional performance of the season. Dorr would also shine in the 400-meters, finishing second overall and tops among collegians, posting a regional-qualifying and conference-leading 53.69. Sophomore Shavon GReaves (Lakewood, N.J.) would sprint to dual victories, taking the 100- and 200-meters amongst top conference competition. Greaves sped to a career-best 11.61 to take top honors in the 100, before coming back to win the 200 in 23.68. Teammate Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.) turned in a fourth-place finish in the event, clocking 24.30.
Dorr and Greaves, along with teammates Caitlin Defusco (Schwenksville, Pa.) and Bianca Fung (North Babylon, N.Y.), were also members of the 4x100-meter relay that would take second in a Big Ten heavy field with a finishing time of 46.25 - just off the NCAA regional standard. It was an outstanding day overall for the Nittany Lion relays, as the 4x400 clocked a regional-qualifying 3:40.26 to take third on the day. Members of the mile relay included Dorr, Hunter, Greaves, and Duncan.
Cadau also had a banner day in the sprints, clocking a regional-qualifying and personal-best 46.79 in the 400-meters. Cadau's performance was good for second in Saturday's field and is the third-fastest among conference competitors this season. Cadau would come back to post another PR on the afternoon, running 21.53 in the 200 to take fourth overall.
Johnson - just a freshman - posted a personal outdoor best leap of 49-7 (15.11) in the triple jump, capturing bronze-medal honors on the day. Also in the jumps, Fung would better the regional standard for the third-straight week, going 19-8.25 (6.00) and taking sixth in the competition.
Senior Emma Schmelzer (Bloomington, Ill.) highlighted the Lion effort in the throws, posting a personal-best toss of 49-7 (15.11) in the shot put. Schmelzer's PR toss would good for seventh in a stacked field, and is ranked among the top four performances in the conference this season. On the men's side, Joe Kovacs (Nazareth, Pa.) took sixth in the shot put, posting a throw of 56-10.75 (17.34), while teammate Blake Eaton (Allegeny, N.Y.) finished eighth in the event with a toss of 55-3.50 (16.85). All three athletes were well ahead of the NCAA regional standard.
Senior Tim Johnson (New Cumberland, Pa.) posted a top ten finish in the 800-meters, placing ninth in 1:51.34, with Caitlin Lane (Greenwich, N.Y.) turning in the top finish on the women's side in the event, going 2:11.18 for 11th place. Senior Dennis Pollow (Ransonville, N.Y.) placed fifth in the mile, clocking 4:12.55, while Jessie Babcock (Irvine, Calif.) and Janelle Young (Lemoyne, Pa.) finished fourth and fifth in the women's mile, running 5:01.06, and 5:01.26, respectively.
The Nittany Lions will be back in action next weekend at the Penn State Open on May 9, before taking on the conference at the Big Ten Championships on May 15-17.