June 5, 2010
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EUGENE, Ore.: June 4, 2010 - Thanks to an outstanding weekend at the NCAA Eastern First Round last weekend, the Nittany Lion track and field squads will travel a grand total of 17 athletes to the NCAA Outdoor Championships, scheduled for June 9-12, at historic Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon. Bolstered by strong performances across the board at the NCAA qualifying round, the Nittany Lions have also ascended the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) rankings, with the women's team up to No. 5, and the men's squad vaulting to No. 22.
The Nittany Lion women will field a total of 11 athletes, who were all big factors in the Lions' team title effort at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships last month. The conference victory was the third-straight outdoor win for the Penn State program and also completed the 2009-10 "Triple Crown" effort, which featured team titles in cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field. On the men's side, the Lions have qualified six athletes, including indoor All-Americans Blake Eaton (Allegany, N.Y.) and Joe Kovacs (Nazareth, Pa.) in the shot put, and Ryan Foster (Tasmania, Australia) in the 800-meters. Both Kovacs and Foster captured NCAA bronze medals in their respective events this past indoor season.
Sprints, Hurdles, Relays
On the women's side, the Nittany Lions will field one of the most prolific sprint contingents in the competition, led by seniors Fawn Dorr (Akron, N.Y.), and Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.), and junior Shavon Greaves (Lakewood, N.J.). Dorr, who was named Big Ten Athlete of the Championship for her outstanding efforts at the conference meet, continued to impress at the Eastern First Round, clocking an impressive 55.57-second personal best in the 400-meter hurdles, which also bettered her own school record in the event and currently ranks as the third-fastest performance in the NCAA this season. Dorr also anchored the women's 4x400-meter relay - along with Barber, Greaves, and freshman Doris Anyanwu (Beltsville, Md.) - to a season-best 3:31.35, thanks to a 51.31 split - the fastest readout of the day - on the closer.
The Lions have been in the top echelon of the 1600-meter relay rankings for the better part of a decade, qualifying squads to the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships in every opportunity over the past six years with their top finish coming in 2008, when the squad of Dominique Blake, Barber, Gayle Hunter, and Shana Cox captured the program's first-ever NCAA title in the event. All told, the Lions have put a grand total of five All-America relays on the track since 2007, and will look to follow up on their fourth-place finish at the NCAA Outdoor Championships from a year ago.
Dorr will be joined by a wealth of Nittany Lions in the quarter hurdles, along with junior Megan Duncan (North Huntindon, Pa.) and freshman Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas), who will both be making their first-career NCAA appearances individually. Both Duncan and Britton have hit their respective strides in recent weeks, with Duncan posting a runner-up finish in the event at the Big Ten Championships and Britton providing scoring efforts in both the 100-meter hurdles and 400 hurdles at the conference meet. At the NCAA First Round, Duncan posted a personal-best 57.55 to earn a qualifying spot in the event, while Britton ran 57.61 to dip under the 58-second barrier for the first time in her career. The trio is also well represented in the all-time Penn State rankings, with Dorr ranked first, Duncan in third, and Britton running the fourth-fastest time in school history.
Elsewhere, Greaves will represent the Nittany Lions in a pair of events, competing in the 100- and 200-meters. Greaves burst on to the NCAA scene this winter, claiming bronze-medal honors in the 200 at the NCAA Indoor Championships. The junior has been undefeated in conference competition this year, winning indoor titles in the 60-meters and 200, and following up with individual golds in the 100 and 200 outdoors. Barber, already a nine-time NCAA All-American, will give it one last go at the national meet in Eugene, competing in the 100-meter hurdles. The senior recently captured her second career conference title in the event, before clocking a blistering school-record 12.85 in the event at the NCAA First Round. Barber's PR currently ranks fourth in the NCAA, and is also a national record for Trinidad and Tobago. An NCAA veteran, Barber was a national champion in the 4x400 relay in 2008, and owns a career-best individual finish of fourth, which she has achieved twice, most recently in the 60-meter hurdles at the 2009 NCAA Indoor Championships.
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Barber, Greaves, Dorr, and junior Caitlin Defusco (Schwenksville, Pa.) have also qualified through in the 4x100-meter relay after clocking a season-best 44.57 in the preliminary round in Greensboro, N.C., last weekend. The relay is the first Nittany Lion 4x100 to earn a spot at the NCAA meet since the 2004 season.
Middle Distance and Distance
Senior Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) will headline the Lion middle distance and distance contingent, entering the weekend as the top seed in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase with a season-best 9:48.28. Franek's NCAA swan song will cap an impressive streak of a perfect 12 NCAA appearances in 12 opportunities in cross country, and indoor and outdoor track and field. Her perfect attendance record, which has been achieved by few historically, is unmatched by any distance runner in the "2010 Class." Franek, who competed in the steeplechase at the IAAF World Championships last summer, owns a career-best finish of third in the event from the 2008 outdoor season. The senior's PR 9:36.74, which she clocked at the 2009 USATF Outdoor Championships, puts her in elite company as the second-fastest steepler in collegiate history, trailing only Olympian and former Colorado Buffalo Jenny Barringer, who owns the collegiate record of 9:24.54. Franek has had an outstanding 2009-01 campaign overall, winning the Big Ten individual title in cross country, taking gold medal honors in the indoor conference mile, and recently capping her conference career with a victory in the steeplechase.
Foster - a junior - is poised for his third-straight All-America effort in the half mile after scoring eighth-place honors a year ago outdoors, and taking third-place overall indoors in 2010. The junior boasts a personal-outdoor best of 1:46.78 at the NCAA meet last year, to go along with a season-best 1:47.78. Joining Foster in the 800 is freshman standout and 2010 Big Ten Outdoor Champion Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.). Loxsom's PR 1:46.74 has been ranked in the top two times in the NCAA for much of the 2010 outdoor season, and is also the world leader in the junior standings. Loxsom, who was victorious in both his prelim and quarterfinal heats at the NCAA First Round, turned heads in the collegiate ranks indoors, running a World Junior Record for 600-meters at 1:16.92. Loxsom was also an NCAA qualifier in the 800 indoors.
Making his first career appearance at the NCAA Finals will be senior Tyler McCandless (Bath, Pa.). McCandless has enjoyed outstanding success in the grueling 10,000-meter race this spring, including a sixth-place finish at the Big Ten Championships with a personal-best 29:15.73, which ranks sixth in the Penn State record books.
Horizontal and Vertical Jumps
Senior Ryan Fritz (Parkesburg, Pa.) - already a three-time NCAA All-American - will be making his final NCAA appearance in Eugene, competing in the high jump. Fritz's season-best clearance of 7-2.50 (2.20) is one of the top 10 clearances in the country this year, and also ties his own personal-outdoor best. All told, Fritz this week's trip to Eugene will mark Fritz's fifth overall appearance at the NCAA Finals. His highest career finish came during the 2009 season, when he tied for third-place overall at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Making her second appearance at outdoor nationals will be junior Bianca Fung (North Babylon, N.Y.), who is set to compete in the long jump. Fung posted a big season best at the NCAA First Round with a wind-aided 20-8 (6.30) - bettering her previous 2010 best by nearly 20 centimeters - in the long jump to capture a qualifying spot to the NCAA Finals. Fung's leap was the sixth-best effort in qualifying, and is the 15th-seed going into competition next week.
Another underdog story from the First Round is certainly sophomore Jocelyn Witmer (Lancaster, Pa.), who was the 48th and final entrant accepted into the women's pole vault field for the NCAA Eastern First Round, and wound up with one of the 12 qualifying spots for the NCAA Finals. Witmer soared to a personal-outdoor best clearance of 12-9.50 (3.90) in Greensboro, which was good for 11th-place in the qualifying field. Prior to the First Round, Witmer tied for seventh at the Big Ten Championships.
Throws
The Lions will travel a trio of decorated throwers to Eugene, including Eaton and Kovacs in the shot put, and junior Karlee McQuillen (Johnstown, Pa.) in the javelin. Eaton launched a personal-best 62-0.25 (18.90) to place second in First Round competition, while Kovacs owns a season-best 61-5.50 (18.73). Eaton's mark is ranked seventh in the collegiate ranks this year, with Kovacs following in eighth. Both throwers posted outstanding efforts at the Big Ten Championships, highlighted by Eaton's Big Ten victory in the shot put, becoming the first Penn State athlete ever to win the event since the Nittany Lions joined the conference in 1992. Kovacs also had a productive conference meet, placing second in the discus. The redshirt sophomore qualified for the NCAA First Round in both the shot and the discus.
McQuillen already has two All-America finishes to her credit, posting a ninth-place effort as a freshman in 2009, and following up with a 10th-place finish a year ago. McQuillen, who owns a season-best toss of 163-5 (49.82), was also the Big Ten runner up this spring.
Action in Eugene begins on Wednesday, June 9. Check back to www.GoPSUsports.com for Nittany Lion updates during all four days of competition.