June 26, 2010
DES MOINES, Iowa - Results | USATF Website After earning a berth to the IAAF World Junior Championships on Thursday afternoon, freshman Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas) added another event to her competition schedule at Worlds, taking the U.S. junior title in the 400-meter hurdles, Saturday at the USATF Championships at Drake Stadium. Britton is the second Nittany Lion to capture a national title on the weekend, after classmate Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.) won gold-medal honors in the junior men's 800-meters yesterday afternoon.
Britton outlasted the eight-women field with a finishing time of 57.99 - her second sub-58 second effort of the outdoor season. Britton won by a healthy margin, bettering second-place competitor Christina Holland of Baylor by over a half a second. The El Paso, Texas, native stands to fair well in the World Junior field, as her PR of 57.61 is currently rated fourth in the world according to the IAAF rankings.
Elsewhere, Nittany Lion alum Shana Cox enjoyed an outstanding effort in the final of the women's senior 400-meters, turning in a fifth-place finish - the highest USATF standing of her career. Cox, who now represents Adidas, crossed the finish line in 51.64, which is her second-fastest time this outdoor season.
Fawn Dorr (Akron, N.Y.), who now runs for Brooks, would earn an opportunity to run in a USATF final, cruising through the semi-finals of the senior women's 400 hurdles. Dorr powered away from the field down the homestretch, easily winning her second in 56.39. Dorr's effort was the second fastest of the day, behind fellow heat winner Ti'erra Brown of Miami, who finished in 55.45.
The Lions have a large contingent set to compete on the final day of the USATF Championships on Sunday, with Blake Eaton (Allegany, N.Y.), and Joe Kovacs (Nazareth, Pa.) in the shot put, Ryan Fritz (Parkesburg, Pa.) in the high jump, Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) in the final of the 3,000-meter steeplechase, and Dorr in the 400 hurdles. TV coverage is set for 1:00-2:30 p.m., EDT on ESPN, and 3:00-4:00 p.m., EDT on NBC.