May 26, 2010
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GREENSBORO, N.C.: May 26, 2010 - The Nittany Lion track and field squads will get the chance to vie for positions at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, this weekend at the NCAA First Round to be held at North Carolina A&T University. Penn State will field a team of 29 men and women, who have all recorded marks this season that rank among the top 48 performances in the East Region in their respective events. Competition begins on Thursday morning with the women's javelin preliminaries, and concludes on Saturday evening with the women's 4x400-meter relay.
Among the entrants in the sprints and hurdles is a healthy contingent of Nittany Lions, including decorated seniors Fawn Dorr (Akron, N.Y.) and Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.), as well as NCAA veteran and junior Shavon Greaves (Lakewood, N.J.). The trio recently helped lead the Penn State women's squad to its third-consecutive Big Ten Outdoor title, and helped their Lion teammates complete the 2009-10 "Triple Crown." Dorr, who was named Athlete of the Championship for her outstanding efforts, took top honors in the 400-meters, and 400-meter hurdles, while Greaves was a double winner in the 100- and 200-meters. Both Lions were key legs on the winning 4x100 and 4x400-meter relays. Barber also got in on the individual gold, taking the 100-meter hurdles for the second time in her decorated career. The three Lions will also cover the two relays this weekend, along with relay pool mates Caitlin Defusco (Schwenksville, Pa.), Doris Anyanwu (Beltsville, Md.), and Megan Duncan (North Huntingdon, Pa.), who have all also qualified in individual events.
The Nittany Lion men will be paced by their middle distance athletes, led by two-time NCAA All-American Ryan Foster (Tasmania, Australia) and Big Ten 800-meter champion Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.). Foster advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Championships a year ago, eventually placing eighth overall, and following up with a third-place finish indoors in 2010. Loxsom currently ranks second in the NCAA at 1:46.74 in the 800, and recently won his first-career Big Ten title in the event. Foster and Loxsom will be joined by juniors Owen Dawson (Coatesville, Pa.) and Lionel Williams (Staten Island, N.Y.) - both All-Americans indoors - in the 800. All four Nittany Lions rank among the top 25 in the East Region in the event. Also in the mix in the middle distances is junior Samuel Borchers (Yellow Springs, Ohio), who will compete in the 1500-meters. The Lions will also be well represented in the longer distances with sophomores Kyle Dawson (Coatesville, Pa.) and Vince McNally (Smoketown, Pa.) in the 5,000-meters, and Tyler McCandless (Bath, Pa.), who currently ranks ninth in the 10,000-meters.
Highlighting the entries in the women's distances will be senior Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio), the current NCAA No. 1 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Franek cruised to a Big Ten victory in the event, breaking the tape in 9:48.28 - the best mark in the Eastern standings by nearly 10 seconds. The Nittany Lions will be very well represented in the steeplechase with Franek, and freshmen Nicole Lord (Media, Pa.) and Natalie Bower (Pleasant Unity, Pa.) taking on the field. Also coming in with highly ranking performances are sophomore Caitlin Lane (Greenwich, N.Y.), who ranks 13th in the 1500 at 4:20.40, and senior Cheryl Spring (The Woodlands, Texas), who enters the competition with the 11th-best effort in the 10K.
The Nittany Lion men also stand to make a dent in the field events, led by shot put duo Joe Kovacs (Nazareth, Pa.) and Blake Eaton (Allegany, N.Y.). Kovacs, who placed third at NCAA Indoor, currently stands fifth among shot putters in the region with a career-outdoor best 61-5.50 (18.75), while Eaton, who took the event title at the Big Ten meet, is currently ranked ninth in the eastern standings at 60-6.75 (18.46). Kovacs will also compete in the discus, where he notched a runner-up effort at the conference meet, along with teammate Cory Eck (State College, Pa.), who is also set to throw in the hammer prelims. Multiple-time NCAA qualifier Ryan Fritz (Parkesburg, Pa.), who owns is a season-best clearance of 7-2.50 (2.20), is currently ranked seventh in the high jump.
Junior Karlee McQuillen (Johnstown, Pa.) will respresent the Lions in the javelin, entering the weekend with the fourth-best toss in the field. McQuillen won two straight East Region titles before the qualifying format was changed, and recently took second at the Big Ten Championships. There will be Lions among the entrants across the jumping events, with senior Brittany Maun (Greensburg, Pa.) in the high jump, senior Caitlin Fairbairn (Coatesville, Pa.) and sophomore Jocelyn Witmer (Lancaster, Pa.) in the pole vault, junior and 2009 NCAA qualifier Bianca Fung (North Babylon, N.Y.) in the long jump, and sophomore Tanaya Lloyd (Philadelphia, Pa.) in the triple jump.
Action in Greensboro is set to kick off at 10 a.m., on Thursday. Check www.GoPSUsports.com for updates throughout all three days of competition.