April 17, 2010
LEWISBURG, Pa. - Cold and blustery conditions didn't stop the Nittany Lion track and field squads from turning in a grand total of 23 event victories and a pair of facility records, Saturday at the Bucknell Team Challenge at Christy Mathewson Memorial Stadium. Leading the way with two individual wins apiece were junior Caitlin Defusco (Schwenksville, Pa.) in the 100- and 200-meters, junior Samuel Borchers (Yellow Springs, Ohio) in the 800- and 1500-meters, and redshirt sophomore Joe Kovacs (Nazareth, Pa.) in the shot put and discus throw.
After placing third in the shot put at the NCAA Indoor Championships, Kovacs continued to tear through the competition in his signature event launching a personal-outdoor best mark of 61-5.50 (18.73). Kovacs' PB was not only a new facility record, but also the third-best effort in Penn State history. The redshirt sophomore now trails only C.J. Hunter (65-5/19.94; 1990) and Knut Hjeltnes (64-0.25 /19.51; 1975) in the Nittany Lion record books. Kovacs would add another winning effort on the afternoon, topping the discus field with a throw of 164-7 (50.17). The Lions enjoyed another pair of victories in the throwing events, as senior Cory Eck (State College, Pa.) recorded a personal-best 192-07 (58.70) to win the hammer, and junior Karlee McQuillen (Johnstown, Pa.) won the women's javelin with a throw of 151-0 (46.03).
DeFusco ran away from the 100-meter field, bettering all competitors by nearly half a second to finish in a wind-aided 11.71 (+3.4). The junior would come back to lead a 1-2-3 sweep by the Lions in the 200, finishing in 23.74 (+4.6; over allowable wind for qualifying purposes). Teammates Fawn Dorr (Akron, N.Y.) and Doris Anyanwu (Beltsville, Md.) followed in second and third, respectively. Along with her two individual victories, DeFusco was also a member of the winning 4x100- and 4x400-meter relays with fellow Lions Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.), Shavon Greaves (Lakewood, N.J.), and Anyanwu on the 4x100, and Dorr, Anyanwu, and Megan Duncan (North Huntingdon, Pa.) on the 4x400. Dorr would also turn in an individual victory in the sprints, going 53.61 to set a new Christy Mathewson Stadium record in the 400-meters. Freshman Collin Manning (Bowie, Md.) claimed top honors in the men's 200, breaking the tape in 21.70 (+3.4) to go along with a third-place effort in the 100.
The Lions would also sweep the hurdles, with freshman Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas) taking the 100-meter hurdles in 14.25 (+2.5), and Barber claiming top honors in the 400-meter hurdles in 1:01.87, with Britton and Duncan placing second and third, respectively. On the men's side, sophomore Jacob Librizzi (Pa. Furnace, Pa.) was the top finisher in the hurdle events, placing second in the 400 hurdles with a finishing time of 55.07.
Borchers led the way in the distances, taking top honors in both the 800 and 1500. The junior started out the day running 3:49.81 in the 1500, with freshman Tyler Corkedale (West Windsor, N.J.) following in third, before coming back to take the 800 in 1:53.14. Borchers was once again joined by another fellow Nittany Lion at the front of the pack, as freshman Sam Havko (Fairview, Pa.) placed second in the half mile, going 1:54.20. Junior Elizabeth Kearins (Doylestown, Pa.) bettered the field in the women's 1500, finishing in 4:41.10. Teammate Jessica Babcock (Irvine, Calif.) turned in a third-place finish in the race.
Also in the distances, freshman Nicole Lord (Media, Pa.) made good on her first race since the 2009 cross country season, winning the 3,000-meter steeplechase in her first attempt at the event. Lord led a healthy contingent of Nittany Lion finishers in the steeple, going 10:44.60 for first place, with classmate Natalie Bower (Pleasant Unity, Pa.) in second in 10:47.10, senior Cheryl Spring (The Woodlands, Texas) in third in 10:47.70, and Lindsey Graybill (Macungie, Pa.) in fourth overall with a finishing time of 11:01.10. Junior Paige Anderson (Carlisle, Pa.) posted a top finish in the women's 3,000-meters, running a personal-best time of 10:11.17, while teammate Katie Shelley (Columbia, Pa.) placed second in the race in 10:19.20.
The Nittany Lions also claimed a quartet of victories in the jumps, taking top honors in the long and triple jumps, as well as the high jump and pole vault. Junior Bianca Fung (North Babylon, N.Y.) recorded a win in the long jump, thanks to a season-best leap of 19-05.25 (5.92), while sophomore Tanaya Lloyd (Philadelphia, Pa.) topped the competition in the triple jump with a personal-outdoor best mark of 39-03.25 (11.97). The Lions would also sweep the vertical jumps with senior Brittany Maun (Greenville, Pa.) clearing 5-5 (1.65) to win the high jump while sophomore Jocelyn Witmer (Lancaster, Pa.) topped out at 12-05.50 (3.80) to win the pole vault, with teammates Caitlin Fairbairn (Coatesville, Pa.) and Rachel NeMoyer (Orchard Park, N.Y.) placing second and third, respectively.
Penn State also saw a pair of one-two finishes in the men's jumps, as senior Ryan Fritz (Parkesburg, Pa.) placed first in the high jump with a clearance of 6-08.25 (2.04), with teammate Bryson Hartzler (Belleville, Pa.) turning in second-place effort. Senior Brad Lawrence (Voorhees, N.J.) was tops in the men's pole vault, clearing 15-9 (4.80) while sophomore Jason Pelletier (Bryant, Ark.) also cleared the bar at 15-9 but was awarded second place on misses.
The Nittany Lion women ran away with the team title with 265 points, over 100 points ahead of second-place Bucknell with 158. Duquesne was third with 104:50, while Binghamton took fourth with 49, and Lock Haven followed in fifth with 27.50. Bucknell edged the Nittany Lions on the men's side, scoring a narrow 194.66 to 194.33 victory. Duquense (83), Lock Haven (71.75), and Binghamton (69) rounded out the five-team competition.
The Lions are back in action next weekend, traveling to the prestigious and highly charged Penn Relays, set for April 22-24 at Franklin Field in Philadelphia.