Dec. 11, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Senior Shavon Greaves (Lakewood, N.J.), and freshman Brady Gehret (Altoona, Pa.) each set facility records in the 300-meters, leading the Nittany Lion efforts at the annual Blue/White Intrasquad Meet at Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track. Redshirt-sophomore Hanif Johnson (Harrisburg, Pa.) was one of a pair of double winners on the day, taking both the long and triple jumps. Junior Jane Swenson (Brandon, S.D.) also turned in two victories, claiming both the shot put and 20-pound weight throw. The Blue team took top honors on both the women's sides, winning by a 61-53 in the women's standings, and 58-47 in the men's scores.
Greaves - running for the Blue squad - paced the Lions in the sprints, setting new school and facility records in the 300, going 37.13 to break Shana Cox's 38.05 in the Penn State record books, and bettering Aleesha Barber's 37.83 Ashenfelter Track standard. Greaves will certainly be one to watch on the NCAA sprint scene this winter, after capturing bronze-medal honors in the 200-meters at the NCAA Indoor Championships a year ago. Redshirt freshman Mahagony Jones (Cleveland, Ohio) - also competing for the Blue team - took runner-up honors in the 300 at 39.14, to go along with an individual victory in the 55-meter dash. Jones clocked 7.11 in her 55-win. Sophomore Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas) also captured a sprint victory, going 8.03 in the 55-meter hurdles.
Gehret cruised to victory in the men's 300, running a scorching 33.77 - bettering the 34.27, run by Cornell's Adam Seabrook in 2008. Also earning a victory in the sprints was sophomore Collin Manning (Bowie, Md.), who took the men's 55 for the White team in 6.55.
In the middle distances, sophomore Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.), who set the World Junior Best at 600-meters as a rookie last year, captured the win in the men's 1200 meters, finishing in 3:02.01. Freshman Bekka Simko (Mentor, Ohio) was the 1000-meter winner on the women's side, crossing the finish line in 2:57.67 to edge classmate Kalyn Fisher (Lewisburg, Pa.), who finished in 2:58.28. Freshman Bernard Bennett-Green (Elkins Park, Pa.) also claimed a mid-distance win, placing first in the 600 in 1:23.01. Senior Owen Dawson (Coatesville, Pa.) and junior Caitlin Lane (Greenwich, N.Y.) - both NCAA qualifiers in cross country last month - were the victors in the longer-distance events, winning the 3,000-meters with times of 8:33.65, and 9:38.70, respectively.
In the field events, Johnson doubled up in the horizontal jumps with efforts of 22-3.75 (6.80) in the long jump, and 50-10.75 (15.51) - matching his career best - in the triple jump. On the women's side, senior Bianca Fung (North Babylon, N.Y.) marked 18-5.25 (5.62) to win the women's long jump, while freshman Marlene Ricketts (Westbury, N.Y.) was tops in the triple jump with a performance of 38-8.25 (11.79).
Swenson was a double winner in the women's throws, winning the shot put in 46-7.25 (14.20), and taking the weight in 51-0.25 (15.55). Senior Joe Kovacs (Nazareth, Pa.) - last year's NCAA indoor bronze medalist in the event - took the men's shot with a toss of 60-9.25 (18.52), while redshirt sophomore Logan Caldwell (Ebensburg, Pa.) captured top honors in the men's 35-pound weight with a toss of 61-8.50 (18.81).
In the vertical jumps, sophomore Erika Morgan (Chesapeake, Va.) and senior Bryson Hartzler (Belleville, Pa.) were the victors in the women's and men's high jump, clearing 5-7.75 (1.72), and 6-9.50 (2.07), respectively. Senior Lindsay Regan (Easton, Pa.) captured the Blue/White title in the women's pole vault, topping out at 11-11.75 (3.65), while junior Jason Pelletier (Benton, Ark.) was the men's winner with a clearance of 14-7.25 (4.45).
With the Blue/White Meet under their belts, the Nittany Lions will begin the regular season with the Penn State Relays, scheduled for January 8, 2011, at Ashenfelter III Indoor Track.