May 17, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.: May 16, 2010 - Freshman Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.) and junior Blake Eaton (Allegany, N.Y.) claimed individual titles, leading the Nittany Lion effort, Sunday at the Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships, on the campus of Indiana University. Loxsom continues the middle distance dominance for the Nittany Lions, who have won the last four 800-meter titles - and five of the last six - during indoor and outdoor conference competition, while Eaton is the first Penn State athlete to win the shot put since joining the Big Ten in 1991-92.
"Our men really have a phenomenal skeleton of talent for a great team," said Director of Track and Field and Head Coach Beth Alford-Sullivan. "We just need to fill in the gaps and get some depth in order to be successful at the conference level. We have signed an outstanding recruiting class for next year and with the returners we have coming back, I'm confident that it won't be long until we can play in the front end of the conference."
Running within a tight pack, Loxsom broke the race open with nearly 300-meters to go, speeding away from the field to finish in 1:48.06 - bettering the second-place competitor by well over a second. Loxsom is the third Nittany Lion to win the 800 outdoors, joining current teammate Ryan Foster (Tasmania, Australia), who won the event a year ago, and Mark Miller, who was victorious in 2006.
Eaton led the shot competition through much of the competition, quickly responded after being overtaken by Minnesota's Trey Davis, launching a personal-best toss of 60-06.75 (18.46) on his fifth attempt to win his first-career conference title. Eaton's result is one of the top 15 throws in the entire NCAA this year, as well as the sixth-best effort in Penn State history. Teammate Joe Kovacs (Nazareth, Pa.), who captured second in the discus on Saturday, would place fifth in the event with a mark of 58-03.25 (17.76).
Sophomore Duri Greene (Wyndmoor, Pa.) would also provide a scoring finish in the throws, placing seventh overall in the javelin with a mark of 193-09 (59.07).
On the track, junior Samuel Borchers (Yellow Springs, Ohio) ran to a fifth-place finish in the 1500-meters, running a personal-best 3:45.06. Borchers' mark is also in solid standing nationally, as it places him among the 48 efforts in the NCAA East Region. Sophomore Vince McNally (Smoketown, Pa.) also posted an outstanding finish in the distances, turning in an eighth-place finish in the 5000-meters, thanks to a PR 14:09.24.
The Nittany Lions continue the outdoor season in two weeks, traveling to the NCAA First Round at the North Carolina A&T in Greensboro, N.C. Competition is set for May 27-29.