Feb. 28, 2010
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - Junior Ryan Foster (Tasmania, Australia) claimed his second-consecutive indoor conference crown in the 800-meters, while redshirt-freshman Hanif Johnson (Harrisburg, Pa.) took silver-medal honors in the triple jump, Sunday at the Big Ten Men's Indoor Track and Field Championships, hosted by the University of Minnesota. Foster and Johnson join yesterday's shot put silver-medalist Joe Kovacs (Nazareth, Pa.) on the medal stand, highlighting the Nittany Lions' sixth-place finish in the team standings.
Foster, who now has three Big Ten individual titles to his credit, topped the men's half-mile field by nearly a full second, winning in 1:50.43 to set a new University of Minnesota Fieldhouse record. The Nittany Lions saw a second scoring effort in the event with junior Owen Dawson (Coatesville, Pa.) turning in an eighth-place finish in 1:53.85.
Johnson popped a season-best 50-0.75 (15.26) in the triple jump to grab silver medal honors and uphold a strong Nittany Lion tradition in the event, as PSU alum Clarence Smith captured indoor titles in the event in 2008 and 2009. Classmate Dan Sandrowicz (Indiana, Pa.) also had an outstanding afternoon, recording a personal-best leap of 49-3.50 (15.02) to finish sixth overall.
Sophomore Anya Uzoh (Laurel, Md.) held his own in the seven-event heptathlon, placing fifth overall with a personal-best 5300 - just 25 points off NCAA-provisional status. On his way to a PR total, Uzoh would post personal-indoor records in six of the seven events, including the 60-meters (7.11), long jump (22-0.75/6.72m), shot put (38-2.75/11.65m), high jump (6-5/1.65), pole vault (14-3.50/4.36), and 1000-meters (2:45.15).
The Nittany Lions were well represented in the middle distance events all around, with freshman Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.) and junior Lionel Williams (Staten Island, N.Y.) posting scoring finishes in the 600-meters. Loxsom, who is already an NCAA automatic qualifier in the 800, placed sixth in the event in 1:19.13, with Williams following in seventh with a finishing time of 1:19.17.
Impressing in the distances was senior Tyler McCandless (Bath, Pa.), who managed to score a sixth-place finish in the 5,000-meters via the unseeded section. McCandless clocked a personal-best 14:21.50 over the 25-lap event, which was good for a victory in the unseeded heat and would hold up for sixth overall. Sophomore Kyle Dawson (Coatesville, Pa.) finished just outside of scoring status, taking 11th in 14:31.51.
Junior Bryson Hartzler (Belleville, Pa.) would also finish just shy of a scoring position, placing 10th in the high jump with a clearance of 6-9.75 (2.08).
The 4x400-meter squad of freshman Ethan Diehm (Lebanon, Pa.), Williams, Loxsom, and Foster would also score a sixth-place effort, crossing the finish line in 3:15.85.
The Nittany Lions will be back in action next weekend, competing in Last Chance Weekend at Notre Dame and Virginia Tech. The weekend will serve as the last opportunity for athletes to put up qualifying marks for the NCAA Championships, set for March 12-13, at the University of Arksansas.