June 9, 2010
EUGENE, Ore.: June 9, 2010 - Senior Fawn Dorr (Akron, N.Y.) advanced through the semi-final round of the women's 400-meter hurdles, claiming a lane in Friday's final, Wednesday at the NCAA Outdoor Championships at the University of Oregon. Elsewhere, the Nittany Lions came up just short on the opening day of competition with six individuals and one relay just missing on bids to the final round. Freshman Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.) came within two one hundredths of a section of an automatic-qualifying performance in the 800-meters, while the women's 4x100-meter relay, comprised of junior Shavon Greaves (Lakewood, N.J.), junior Caitlin Defusco (Schwenksville, Pa.), senior Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.), and Dorr placed 17th overall in the semi-final round, also just missing out on a lane in the eight-team final.
Dorr cruised to a heat victory with a winning time of 56.16 - the second-fastest effort of her career. The senior blew away the field down the homestretch, besting the second-place competitor by well over a second. Dorr's performance was also the third fastest across the three heats of qualifying. First-time NCAA qualifiers Megan Duncan (North Huntingdon, Pa.) and Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas) also competed in the 400-meter hurdles, placing 15th and 23rd, respectively. Duncan turned in a sixth-place finish within her semi-final heat in 58.70, while Britton placed eighth in her section, clocking 1:00.12.
The women's 4x100, which is the first group of Nittany Lions to qualify in the event since the 2004 season, would clock 44.99 to finish sixth in their semi-final heat. The squad has come on strong in recent weeks, claiming the Big Ten Championship in the event last month. Texas A&M posted the top effort in the semi, going 43.41. Greaves also competed individually, placing 13th overall in the 100-meters, with a finishing time of 11.49.
In the 800, Loxsom and Foster held the lead in their semi-final heat through 600-meters, before Baylor's Chris Gowell made a move to the front of the pack, along with Oregon's Andrew Wheating. Loxsom, who is the Big Ten Champion in the event, would place third in the race in 1:49.89, just off Gowell, who ran 1:49.69 for the final automatic-qualifying position in the Friday's eight-man final. Loxsom's time was good for 17th-place overall, while Foster placed 24th in 1:53.45. Virginia's Robby Andrews was the top qualifier in a 2010 collegiate-best 1:45.54. Loxsom, who was one of just four freshmen in the event, finishes up an impressive rookie campaign for the Nittany Lions with a personal-best 1:46.74 from earlier this season, which remains the top time in the world by a junior athlete (Under 20).
Lots of action remains for the Nittany Lions in the coming days, with Thursday competitors set to include Greaves in the 200 semi-finals, Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) in the semi of the 3,000-meter steeplechase, Barber in the 100-meter hurdles semi, and Tyler McCandless (Bath, Pa.) in the final of the men's 10,000-meters.