Jan. 15, 2011
Full Results | Video Interview with Beth Alford-Sullivan
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - January 15, 2011 - Junior Caitlin Lane (Greenwich, N.Y.) clocked a new Penn State record in the 1,000-meters, Saturday at the Nittany Lion Challenge at Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track. Penn State also accounted for a pair of NCAA-leading marks, including Shavon Greaves (Lakewood, N.J.) in the 400-meters at 53.53, and the women's distance medley relay, which posted a finishing time of 11:42.36. Elsewhere, freshman Brady Gehret (Altoona, Pa.) set a meet record in the 200-meters for the second-straight week, while newcomer Doug Moppert (Malvern, Pa.) won the long jump in his first Penn State appearance. All told, the Nittany Lions, who are currently ranked eighth on the men's side, and 19th in the women's rankings, combined to set six meet records against an outstanding field, which included Florida, Albany, Cornell, and Maryland.
Lane - an NCAA all-region finisher in cross country - made good on her first-track appearance of the season, running 2:45.95 to better Briene Simmons' 2:48.21 from 2007. Lane was not the only Nittany Lion to record a personal best in the distances, with senior Owen Dawson (Coatesville, Pa.) clocking a PR 4:04.26 - the third-fastest performance in Division I at press time - to win the mile run, also setting a new Nittany Lion Challenge record. Senior Ryan Foster (Tasmania, Australia) made it a clean sweep for the Lions' in the 1,000, running 2:19.96 - just off his PR of 2:19.60. Foster, who also won the event at the same meet a year ago, now holds the second and sixth-fastest times in collegiate history in the event, and is the only athlete to break 2:20 for the 1K on two occasions.
Also the in the distance, the women's distance medley squad of sophomore Natalie Bower (Pleasant Unity, Pa.), freshman Rebekka Simko (Mentor, Ohio), senior Maura Ryan (Doylestown, Pa.) and sophomore Brooklyne Ridder (Cincinatti, Ohio), combined to run 11:42.36 - the fastest time in the NCAA this year.
Greaves and Gehret controlled the sprints, with Greaves posting a victory in the 400 - to go along with a runner-up finish in the 60-meters, and Gehret capturing top honors in the 200. Greaves blitzed to a season-best 53.53 for the 400 - the current national leader by nearly half a second - to follow up on a season-best effort of 7.40 in the 60, where she finished as the top collegiate in the field. Gehret continued to impress as a rookie, going 21.29 for one lap - the seventh-best effort in the country during the early season.
Both Greaves and Gehret would come back to assist on outstanding finishes in the 4x400-meter relay, with Gehret running the second leg on a near-school record performance by the men's squad. Gehret, along with teammates senior Lionel Williams (Staten Island, N.Y.), sophomore Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.), and sophomore Aaron Nadolsky (Altoona, Pa.) ran away with the event, running a new-meet record 3:09.45 - just .02 seconds off the current Nittany Lion standard of 3:09.43 from 2003. The Lions were just as successful individually, with Nadolsky going 48.19 to win the 400, edging teammate Mark Filandro (Oakland, N.J.) in 48.50. Williams was also a winner on the day, taking the 600-meters with a finishing time of 1:17.98.
The women's 4x400 also posted a meet record en route to a event victory in 3:37.63 - the fourth-fastest relay effort in the country this season. The Lions' squad included sophomore Doris Anyanwu (Beltsville, Md.), freshman Mahagony Jones (Cleveland, Ohio), Greaves, and junior Ijeoma Iheoma (Holland, Pa.), who ran an outstanding anchor to hold off a hard-charging Gator squad on the final stretch. Also enjoying a victory in the sprints and hurdles was sophomore Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas), who clocked a career-best 8.30 for the 60-meter hurdles to best the field. Britton's performance currently stands fourth best among NCAA competitors.
Moppert headlined the Lion effort in the field events, posting a leap of 24-5.75 (7.46) - the 11th farthest leap in Division I, and best jump in the Big Ten - to win the men's long jump. Sophomore Hanif Johnson (Harrisburg, Pa.) also impressed, taking second in the triple jump with a lifetime-best 51-5.50 (15.68). Johnson's effort stands as the fourth best in the NCAA, and was second-to-only Florida's Omar Craddock on the day. Craddock jumped an NCAA-automatic qualifying 53-1.50 (16.19).
Also posting a lifetime-best leap was sophomore Sean Reilly (Lagrangeville, N.Y.), who cleared 6-10.25 (2.09) to take second in the high jump.
The crowd also witnessed a new facility record in the men's shot put, thanks to Nike's Ryan Whiting, who posted an effort of 68-5.50 (20.89) to better Sheldon Battle's 66-7.75 from a year ago. Senior Blake Eaton (Allegany, N.Y.) was the top Penn State finisher on the day, finishing third with a season-best 60-1.75 (18.33), which ranks fifth nationally. Sophomore Jane Swenson (Brandon, S.D.) was the top Lion finisher in the women's shot with a season-best toss of 45-0.25 (13.72), while sophomore Nabil Mubarak (Loganville, Ga.) had a solid afternoon in the men's 35-pound weight throw, finishing third with a personal-best 59-5.75 (18.13).
Following a weekend off, the Nittany Lions will move on to the high-powered Penn State National on January 28-29. For more on Nittany Lion track and field, log on to www.GoPSUsports.com.