Jan. 9, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.: January 9, 2010 - Propelled by a pair of NCAA-provisional qualifying performances from junior Shavon GReaves (Lakewood, N.J.), the Nittany Lion track and field squads opened the 2010 indoor campaign in impressive fashion on Saturday, putting up a total of five NCAA marks at the Penn State Relays at Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track. Greaves, who clocked NCAA performances en route to victories in the 60- and 200-meters, is joined by a trio of fellow Nittany Lions on the NCAA descending order list, including senior Brittany Maun (Greensburg, Pa.) in the high jump, and juniors Blake Eaton (Allegeny, N.Y.) and Joe Kovacs (Nazareth, Pa.) in the shot put.
"The Penn State Relays gave our squads an opportunity to shake some rust off and get the season started," said Director of Track and Field and Head Coach Beth Alford-Sullivan of the competition. "We really had some outstanding results considering the early nature of the season. Our finest efforts were undoubtedly from Shavon, and it looks to be an exciting season for her and the rest of the 4x400."
Greaves was on fire all afternoon, coming out with an NCAA-provisional qualifying 7.33 in the 60-meter preliminaries, and following up with an impressive 7.30 in the event final - good for her first victory of the 2010 season. The junior wasn't finished, however, sprinting to a speedy personal-best 23.22 in the 200, which was also good for first place and another NCAA-qualifying effort. Greaves is also swiftly solidifying her spot in Penn State history, as her performances in both events on Saturday are ranked second-to-only 11-time All-American Connie Moore in the Penn State record books.
Maun also raised the bar to start the 2010 campaign, clearing a personal-best and NCAA-provisional qualifying 5-10.50 (1.79) to better the rest of the field by over seven inches.
"It was very encouraging to see such a strong effort from the men's throws and have Blake and Joe open at such a high level," continued Sullivan. "Maun leading the jumps squads set the tone for a lot of impressive performances from many of student athletes. We will open up larger numbers of Nittany Lions next week, and look to be at full strength by the Penn State National at the end of the month."
Eaton and Kovacs impressed with a one-two sweep in the shot put, posting provisional marks of 59-6.75 (18.15), and 58-10 (17.93), respectively. Eaton's performance, which was also a meet record, was a personal best by over two feet and is also the fifth-farthest toss in Nittany Lion history. The Nittany Lion duo also excelled in the 35-pound weight throw with Kovacs taking second with a PR 57-00 (17.37), and Eaton placing third with a mark of 55-00.25 (16.77) - also a career long.
Shavon Greaves |
All told, the Nittany Lions claimed a total of eight individual and three relay victories, to go along with 11 second-place finishes, and eight third-place efforts.
On the track, senior Fawn Dorr (Akron, N.Y.) was tops in the 500-meters with a meet-record run of 1:12.23 with freshman Doris Anyawu (Beltsville, Md.) placing third in 1:14.50. Dorr would also impress in the 200, finishing second to Greaves in 24.48. Teammate Caitlin Defusco (Schwenksville, Pa.) took third in the event a personal-best 24.63 to go along with a silver-medal standing in the 60 (7.74).
The Nittany Lion 4x400-meter relay, consisting of Anyanwu, DeFusco, Greaves, and Dorr, also posted a winning effort, finishing in 3:41.70 - just off the NCAA-qualifying mark of 3:40.00. The quartet of Kevin Fuller (Camp Hill, Pa.), Lionel Williams (Staten Island, N.Y.), Anya Uzoh (Laurel, Md.), and Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.) would take top honors in the 4x400 on the men's side, thanks to an exciting final leg from Loxsom, who sprinted a hard-charging Villanova anchor in the last 100-meters to break the tape in 3:16.88. The men's distance medley relay would also add a relay win with Owen Dawson (Coatesville, Pa.), Kevin Fuller, Williams and Mark Fuller (Camp Hill, Pa.) winning in 10:00.90, with teammates Ryan Foster (Tasmania, Australia), Ethan Diehm (Lebanon, Pa.), Loxsom, and Matt Groves (State College) combining to finish second overall in 10:01.46.
In the field, the Lions got dual triple jump wins from Hanif Johnson (Harrisburg, Pa.) in the men's event and Tanaya Lloyd (Philadelphia, Pa.) in the women's standings. Johnson, who took silver-medal honors in the long jump, posted a leap of 49-7.75 (15.13) for top honors, followed by teammate Dan Sandrowicz (Indiana, Pa.) in the second, while Lloyd recorded a top effort of 38-9 (11.81).
Senior Brad Lawrence (Voorhees, N.J.) bettered the field in the men's pole vault, clearing 15-9 (4.80), while sophomore Jason Pelletier (Bryant, Arkansas) placed third in the event. On the women's side, Caitlin Fairbairn (Coatesville, Pa.) and Jocelyn Witmer (Lancaster, Pa.) would place second and third in the vault, respectively.
Other second-place finishes included Anna Muzio (Harrisburg, Pa.) in the women's 20-lb weight, Erika Morgan (Chesapeake, Va.) in the women's high jump, and Bryson Hartzler (Belleville, Pa.) in the men's high jump. Muzio would claim third in the women's shot, while Evelyn Britton (El Paso, Texas) took third in the weight, and Elizabeth Kearins (Doylestown, Pa.) placed third in the 1000-meters.
The Nittany Lions are back in action again next weekend, hosting the PSU Northeast Challenge. The event is set for Saturday, January 16, at Ashenfelter III Indoor Track.