March 5, 2010
SOUTH BEND, Ind. - Competing in their final-qualifying opportunity of the indoor season, both Cheryl Spring (The Woodlands, Texas), and sophomore Kyle Dawson (Coatesville, Pa.) held their own amongst top competition on Friday, racing in the 5,000-meters at the Alex Wilson Invitational at the University of Notre Dame. Additional Nittany Lion athletes will get their chance to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships on Saturday, with portions of the squad at both Notre Dame and the Virginia Tech Last Chance Qualifier in Blacksburg, Va.
Spring dipped under the NCAA provisional standard for the second time this season on Friday, clocking 16:35.18 to finish fourth in her heat of the 5,000. Charlotte's Amanda Goetschius won the race in 16:09.19, followed by Indiana's Sarah Pease (16:19.44) in second. Spring was ranked 22nd in the event nationally going into the weekend with a personal-best 16:22.30.
Dawson also ran well against some of the nation's top distance athletes, going 14:14.09 to place 13th in a race to yielded 10 NCAA provisional qualifiers. New Mexico's Chris Barnicle captured the victory, breaking the tape at 13:47.16. Dawson's finish was just off his season-best 14:07.56, which sat 41st in the NCAA at the start of the weekend.
Several Lions have yet to try their hand at competition this weekend, with action scheduled to get underway at Virginia Tech at 9:00 a.m., and 11:00 a.m. at Notre Dame. Log on to www.GoPSUsports.com for full recaps from both events.