April 21, 2010
Meet Notes
Official Penn Relays Homepage
Live Coverage at Flotrack.org
PHILADELPHIA: April 21, 2010 - The Nittany Lion track and field squads will be in action again this weekend, traveling to the historic Penn Relays, held at Franklin Field at the University of Pennsylvania. With a wealth of nationally-ranked performances already under their belts, the Nittany Lions will look to show their stuff against the nation's best this weekend, with competition set for Thursday through Friday.
Penn State has enjoyed outstanding success at the Relay over the years, with its last Championship of America victory coming during the 2008 season, when the women's 4x400-meter relay (Dominique Blake, Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.), Gayle Hunter, and Shana Cox) captured the prestigious Penn Relays Wheel. The same foursome would go on to win the NCAA title in the event during the same season. On the men's side, the Nittany Lions have won an impressive total of 23 Championship of America crowns. The Nittany Lion men also hold the All-Time Relays Record in the 4x800-meter relay at 7:11.17, run by Vance Watson, Steve Shisler, Chris Mills, and Randy Moore in 1985. In 2009, Nittany Lions Fawn Dorr (Akron, N.Y.) and Tanner Evak turned in a pair of individual wins, with Dorr taking top honors in the 400-meter hurdles, and Evak claiming first place in the javelin.
Relays
The Nittany Lion women's sprints contingent will once again look to be at the front of the pack in the relays, led by junior standout Shavon Greaves (Lakewood, N.J.), who is currently ranked in the top five in the NCAA Eastern Standings in both the 100- and 200-meter dashes, and holds the fifth-fastest time in the NCAA in the 200 at 23.07. Penn State returns three of four legs from its third-place 4x400-meter relay squad at the 2009 NCAA Outdoor Championships, including Greaves, Dorr, and Barber, while adding freshman Doris Anyanwu (Beltsville, Md.), and Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas), and juniors Caitlin Defusco (Schwenksville, Pa.) and Megan Duncan (North Huntingdon, Pa.) to the mix. Individually, the Lions are among the top competitors in their events across the board, as Dorr currently ranks fifth nationally in the 400-meter hurdles with a school-record 56.65, while Barber is also one to watch on the national scene with a season-best 13.37 in the 100-meter hurdles.
Anyanwu boasts an impressive amount of Penn Relays success on her resume, including 4x400 victories in 2007 and 2008 as a member of the storied relay tradition at Eleanor Roosevelt High School. DeFusco and Duncan also own impressive credentials, as DeFusco ran on the Lions' Big Ten Champion 4x400 during the indoor season and qualified for the NCAA Championships individually in the 200, while Duncan anchored Penn State's season-best 3:35.56 4x400 at the Sun Angel Classic, which stands as the seventh-fastest time nationally this year.
The foursome of Greaves, Dorr, DeFusco, and graduate Gayle Hunter took top honors in the ECAC Championship of the 4x200-meter relay a year ago, setting a section record of 1:34.75. The Lions are also entered in the 4x100-meter relay, as well as the 4x200 and sprint medley relays in 2010.
On the men's side, the Nittany Lions will field one of the most competitive 4x800-meter relay squads on the track, including NCAA Indoor All-America trio Ryan Foster (Tasmania, Australia), Owen Dawson (Coatesville, Pa.) and Lionel Williams (Staten Island, N.Y.), along with freshman and NCAA indoor qualifier Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.). The foursome took top honors in the event at the Florida Relays earlier this month, running 7:18.72 - the fastest time by a collegiate team in 2010.
Foster is a three-time Big Ten Champion in the 800, and owns a personal outdoor best of 1:46.78, to go along with a PR 3:41.26 in the 1500-meters from earlier this month, which is currently the fourth-fastest mark in the NCAA. Indoors, Foster set Australian National Records at 800 and 1000-meters, with efforts of 1:47.48, and 2:19.60, before going on to take third place in the 800 at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Dawson has already put up performances of 1:48.85 for 800, and 3:45.42 for 1500 - both top 10 times in the PSU record books. Loxsom, who set the World Junior Best at 600-meters (1:16.92) indoors, and Williams have also been running well outdoors, as Loxsom finished as the top collegian at Sun Angel 800 at 1:48.41, while Williams has already clocked 1:49.07 this season.
The Nittany Lion men will also enter the fray in the distance medley and 4xmile relays, with standouts Samuel Borchers (Yellow Springs, Ohio), Vince McNally (Smoketown, Pa.), Sam Havko (Fairview, Pa.) and Tyler Corkedale (West Windsor, N.J.) in the relay pool. Borchers has enjoyed outstanding success in his first two years as a Nittany Lion, winning the Big Ten 1500-meter title as a freshman, and setting a school-record 4:01.98 in the indoor mile. McNally boasts a lot of experience amongst top competition as two-time NCAA qualifier in cross country, while Corkedale was a member of national high school record-setting indoor 4xmile relay as a senior at West Windsor Plainsboro North High School in 2009.
Penn State will also bring competitive line ups in the women's distance relays, led by senior Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) - a former Penn Relays champion in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Franek, who is the second-fastest collegiate in history in the steeplechase at 9:36.74, will also get on the track individually, competing in the women's Olympic Development mile, which features a field of top professionals and highly accomplished collegians. Franek won the Big Ten mile title indoors, running a personal-best and school-record 4:37.95. The women's distance relay pool is also set to include NCAA provisional qualifiers Caitlin Lane (Greenwich, N.Y.), and Cheryl Spring (The Woodlands, Texas).
Individual Events
In the field, Nittany Lions Joe Kovacs (Nazareth, Pa.) and Blake Eaton (Allegany, N.Y.) will vie for high finishes in the shot put competition, with both athletes qualifying for the men's championship section. Kovacs has had a promising start to the 2010 outdoor campaign, recording a personal-outdoor best effort of 61-5.50 (18.73) in the event at the Bucknell Team Challenge, setting a new Christy Mathewson Memorial Stadium record. Eaton's top finish came at the Sun Angel Classic at Arizona State, where he posted a season-best throw of 58-10.25 (17.94) to place third in an elite field. Kovacs, who was the NCAA bronze-medalist in the event indoors, is currently ranked third in the NCAA Eastern Standings, while Eaton, who placed eighth nationally inside, sits 12th.
Junior Karlee McQuillen (Johnstown, Pa.) is also among the top entrants in her event, entering the weekend with season-best mark of 161-10 (49.32) in the javelin - the third-best effort in the East Region. McQuillen was Penn Relays runner up during both her freshman and sophomore campaigns, after winning the high school individual title as a senior at Westmont Hilltop in 2007. McQuillen is no stranger to national success, having captured All-America honors during both the 2008 and 2009 seasons.
The Lions will field a host of competitors in the Thursday night distance events, including Big Ten Cross Country Freshman of the Year Nicole Lord (Media, Pa.). Lord recently posted her first collegiate victory, taking the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Bucknell Team Challenge. Lord will compete in the 3,000-meters at Penn. Also entered in the women's distance events are sophomore Kara Millhouse (Boiling Springs, Pa.) and freshman Brooklyne Ridder (Cincinnati, Ohio), both women were members of the Lions' Big Ten Championship cross country squad this fall, and will race the 5,000-meters. On the men's side, the Nittany Lions will be paced by redshirt-sophomore Kyle Dawson (Coatesville, Pa.), who finished sixth in the 5K at Penn a year ago. Dawson already has a Penn Relays title under his belt, anchoring the winning boys' distance medley relay as a senior at Coatesville High School in 2007. Also racing the 5,000 in senior Tyler McCandless (Bath, Pa.), who is currently ranked 12th in the NCAA East in the 10,000-meters at 29:22.35, which is also the sixth-fastest performance in the Nittany Lion record books.
Penn State will also have two entrants in the Championship sections of the high jump, with senior Ryan Fritz (Parkesburg, Pa.) taking on the men's field, and senior Brittany Maun (Greenville, Pa.) among the women's entrants. Fritz, who took top honors against a solid field at the Sun Angel Classic two weeks ago, is a former Penn Relays Champion, winning the high school competition in 2005. Maun has also had a productive senior campaign, topping out at 5-11.25 (1.81) indoors, tying the PSU record.
Current Nittany Lions With Penn Relays Victories
While at Penn State ...
Aleesha Barber (2008, 4x400)
Fawn Dorr (2009, 400-meter hurdles)
Bridget Franek (2007, 3000-meter steeplechase)
In High School ...
Doris Anyanwu (2007 & 2008, Girls' 4x400; Eleanor Roosevelt (Md.) HS)
Karlee McQuillen (2007, Girls' Javelin; Westmont Hilltop (Pa.) HS)
Kyle Dawson (2007, Boys' DMR; Coatesville (Pa.) HS)
Owen Dawson (2007, Boys' DMR; Coatesville (Pa.) HS)
Ryan Fritz (2005, Boy's High Jump; Octorara (Pa.) HS)