April 22, 2010
Penn Relays Results | Live Video on Flotrack.org | Nittany Lion Interviews
PHILADELPHIA, Pa.: April 22, 2010 - After placing second for the past two years, junior Karlee McQuillen (Johnstown, Pa.)turned in a gold-medal effort in the women's javelin championship, Thursday at the Penn Relays at Franklin Field. McQuillen, who was also a Penn Relays Champion as a high schooler, topped a national-field to earn the 12th individual victory in the history of the Nittany Lion women's program. On the track, the Nittany Lion 4x400-meter relay squad clocked a season-best performance to advance to the Championship of America section, set for Saturday afternoon. The Lions also had a strong showing during the event's annual Distance Carnival, paced by a eighth-place showing from redshirt-sophomore Kyle Dawson (Coatesville, Pa.) in the "Championship" 5000-meters.
McQuillen posted one of the more consistent series of her 2010 campaign, recording a winning effort of 162-7 (49.57). McQuillen in the third Nittany Lion woman to win the javelin competition at Penn, along with Marilyn Senz in 1983 and Brianne Johnson in 2001.
The Nittany Lion team of Doris Anyanwu (Beltsville, Md.), Shavon Greaves (Lakewood, N.J.), Fawn Dorr (Akron, N.Y.) and Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.) clocked a season-best 3:35.08 - the sixth-fastest time in qualifying - to move on to Saturday's final. The Lions held their own in a stacked field, with a 52.03 split from Dorr on the third leg, and a 53.06 readout by Barber on the anchor. The quartet would place third in their section, behind only Arkansas and LSU. Jamaica's UTech - last year's champion - clocked the fastest effort in qualifying at 3:32.81.
Junior Megan Duncan (North Huntingdon, Pa.) and freshman Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas) kicked things off for the Lions on the track, both earning top 10 finishes the 400-meter hurdles. Duncan clocked a season-best 59.72 to place eighth overall, while Britton broke the tape in 59.99 - good for 10th.
Junior Bianca Fung (North Babylon, N.Y.) also had a solid day individually, placing second in the Eastern Division long jump with a season-best 20-1 (6.12). Meanwhile in the field, senior Caitlin Fairbairn (Coatesville, Pa.) and sophomore Jocelyn Witmer (Lancaster, Pa.) finished tied for 12th in the women's "College" pole vault, both clearing 12-0 (3.66).
Dawson led the way during the distance carnival, turning in a season-best 14:08.73 to earn a top 10 finish at the Penn Relays for the second-straight year. On the women's side, freshman Brooklyne Ridder (Cincinnati, Ohio) clocked a PR 16:39.25 to place ninth in the women's championship section. Fellow rookie Nicole Lord (Media, Pa.) was the top Lion in the women's 3,000-meters, placing 11th overall in 9:49.28 - also a personal best.
In the relays, the foursome of Greaves, Caitlin Defusco (Schwenksville, Pa.), Barber, and Anyanwu combined to run 45.74 in the 4x100-meter preliminaries, placing 16th. The Lions will advance to the ECAC Final on Friday, along with Hampton, UConn, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Pittsburgh, Penn, and East Carolina. The women's distance medley relay also posted a strong finish, crossing 11th in the Championship of America section in 11:26.54. The squad included senior Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio), Duncan, sophomore Caitlin Lane (Greenwich, N.Y.) and senior Cheryl Spring (The Woodlands, Texas).
The Nittany Lions will continue action at the Penn Relays on Friday, with mainly men's individual and relay events on the schedule.