June 26, 2010
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DES MOINES, Iowas - Rising sophomore Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.) captured his first-career national title on Friday, taking gold-medal honors in the junior men's 800-meters at the USATF Championships at Drake Stadium. The Nittany Lions have been on a roll over the opening two days of the championships, with soon-to-be sophomore Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas) qualifying to represent the United States at the IAAF World Junior Championships next month, via a second-place performance in the junior women's 100-meter hurdles.
After qualifying for this afternoon's final with a heat victory in yesterday's preliminaries, Loxsom ran an impressive race from the start, tucking in near the front of the pack for the first 400 meters, before blitzing to the lead and sprinting away from the rest of the field in the final 150 meters. Loxsom broke the tape in 1:47.45, bettering runner-up Robby Andrews of Virginia, who was the NCAA Champion indoors, and NCAA runner-up outdoors. The New Haven, Conn., native now advances to World Juniors in Moncton, Canada from July 19-25. The U.S. duo currently own the top two marks among junior athletes across the world with Andrews at 1:45.54 and Loxsom at 1:46.74.
Britton had a sizzling series of races on Thursday, clocking a personal-best 13.47 in the opening round, and coming back with another career low, going 13.37 to earn second-to-only Texas A&M's Donique Flemings. Britton's final mark is also the fourth-fastest mark in Penn State history, as well as the fourth-best time in the junior world standings. Britton will also get a chance to add another event to her Junior World itinerary, as she cruised through to the 400-meter hurdle final thanks to a heat victory with a finishing time of 59.12, which was also the second-fastest time of the day.
Finishing as a USATF senior finalist for the first time of her career was Karlee McQuillen (Johnstown, Pa.), who posted an eighth-place finish in the javelin. McQuillen's best toss of the afternoon was 163-7 (49.87). The women's javelin was also a significant one in the record books, as current Asics standout and former Big Ten competitor at Purdue Kara Patterson set a new American record in the event with a mark of 218-9 (66.67).
The Lions have also enjoyed outstanding success in the senior competition, with Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) easing to a heat win in the preliminaries of the 3,000-meter steeplechase to cruise through to the U.S. Championship race, set for Sunday afternoon. Franek's winning time of 9:58.91 was the only sub-10 minute effort of the afternoon. The Lions will have double representation in the steeplechase final, with graduate Stephanie Pezzullo also advancing with a time of 10:07.13 - the 11th-best time in the field.
Also moving on to the next round was standout Fawn Dorr (Akron, N.Y.), who recently signed a contract to compete for Brooks, in the 400-meter hurdles. Dorr sprinted to a finishing time of 57.73 to take second in her heat, and post the ninth fastest time of the day. Dorr will compete again in the hurdle semi on Saturday. Teammate Megan Duncan (North Huntingdon, Pa.) also competed in the event, placing 20th in 1:00.91, in her first appearance at the U.S. Championships.
Penn State also saw a stellar showing from its alumni contingent all around, with Shana Cox advancing in the women's 400-meters with a finishing time of 52.09 - a top five effort among competitors. Cox continued to excel in the semi-final round, finishing third in her heat at 52.40 - to earn one of the eight lanes in Saturday's final. Former Lion Connie Moore also faired well, qualifying for the women's 100-meter semi-final, thanks to an 11.54 clocking in the preliminaries. Moore came up just short of a spot in the final, placing 11th in the semi in 11.50. Earning a top 10 finish was former Lion James Carney, who placed eighth in the 10,000-meters in 29:32.50.
Action continues at Drake Stadium on Saturday morning, and concludes on Sunday afternoon.