May 28, 2010
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GREENSBORO, N.C.: May 28, 2010 - Junior Blake Eaton (Allegany, N.Y.) and redshirt sophomore Joe Kovacs (Nazareth, Pa.) both punched their ticket to the NCAA Outdoor Championships on Friday, claiming automatic-advancing finishes in the shot put at the NCAA First Round, held on the campus of North Carolina A&T. Eaton and Kovacs are just two of a grand total of 10 Nittany Lions who will captured qualifying spots for Eugene - the site of the NCAA Championships - on Friday, with Nittany Lion trio Fawn Dorr (Akron, N.Y.), Megan Duncan (North Huntingdon, N.Y.), and Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas) advancing in the 400-meter hurdles, Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.) and Ryan Foster (Tasmania, Australia) qualifying in the 800-meters, Shavon Greaves (Lakewood, N.J.) moving on the in the 100-meters, Ryan Fritz (Parkesburg, Pa.) in the high jump and Jocelyn Witmer (Lancaster, Pa.) grabbing a qualifying spot in the pole vault. After two days of competition, the Nittany Lions now have 13 athletes guaranteed positions at the NCAA Championships.
The day two action was cut short, however, due to severe thunderstorms in the Greensboro area that reached the region just before the start of the 3,000-meter steeplechase. The round will be run tomorrow morning, beginning with the men's heats at 9:30 a.m., followed by the women's races at 10:10 a.m. Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) will headline the women's field, along with freshmen Nicole Lord (Media, Pa.) and Natalie Bower (Pleasant Unity, Pa.).
Eaton launched a huge personal best on his way to a second-place finish, while teammate Kovacs turned in a sixth-place effort, both easily finishing among the top 12. Standing seventh after four attempts, Eaton unleashed a throw of 62-0.25 (18.90) to place second in an outstanding field. Kovacs also held his own against the stacked East Region field, tossing 59-11 (18.26). Both Eaton and Kovacs will be making their second appearance on the NCAA level this year, after turning in All-America efforts at the NCAA Indoor Championships this winter. Eaton's toss is also among in the elite in the Nittany Lion record books, as the throw is the third best in school history, trailing only C.J. Hunter (65-5/19.94), and Knut Hjeltnes (64-0.25/19.51).
Dorr led an outstanding effort by the Lions in the 400 hurdles, clocking a school-record 55.57 to advance to Eugene. Dorr's mark was third best in the competition, and also ranks in the top 15 in the world this year. Also posting personal bests on their way to the NCAA Championships were Duncan and Britton, who clocked 57.55, and 57.61, respectively, the ninth and 11th-fastest efforts of the day. The Nittany Lion trio now holds three of the top four times in PSU history in the event.
Loxsom and Foster managed to grab top three finishes in their quarterfinal heat of the 800, guaranteeing themselves an automatic berth to Eugene. Running in the same quarterfinal section, the Nittany Lion duo maintained position in the front of the field throughout the race with Loxsom winning the heat in 1:47.73, and Foster coming in third in 1:47.99.
Greaves, who was the NCAA bronze medalist at 200-meters indoors, had a stellar afternoon, placing ninth overall in the women's 100-meters with a finishing time of 11.42 to advance to the next round. The junior would come back to earn a lane in tomorrow's quarterfinal in the 200, winning her prelim heat in 23.20. Greaves will be joined by teammate Caitlin Defusco (Schwenksville, Pa.), who earned one of the 24 qualifying spots with a season-best time of 23.90.
In one of the most inspired efforts of the day, Witmer - just a sophomore - qualified through to the national pole vault final, thanks to a season-best clearance of 12-9.50 (3.90), good for 11th place overall and one of the 12 qualifying positions. Witmer entered the weekend as entrant number 48 of 48 in the competition, but executed an outstanding competition to make her first appearance at the national championships. Also qualifying through in the field was Fritz, who is in his last season of collegiate eligibility, tied for first place in the high jump on his way to the sixth NCAA appearance of his decorated career.
Action on the third and final day of the competition begins on Saturday morning with the men's discus throw at 9:30 a.m.