Jan. 8, 2011
Results | Video Interview with Cas Loxsom | Video Interview with Beth Alford-Sullivan
"Banner Drop" Video Clip
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.: January 8, 2011 - Sophomore Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.) set new school and facility records in the 500-meters, propelling the Nittany Lion track and field teams to outstanding results at the Penn State Relays, Saturday at Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track. Among a bevy of highlights, the Nittany Lions captured a grand total of 12 event victories, including a stellar clearance of 7-1.50 (2.17) by senior Bryson Hartzler (Belleville, Pa.) in the high jump.
Loxsom - the 2010 IAAF World Junior silver medalist at 800-meters - dominated the 500 field, finishing in 1:01.28, to break Ben Karcz' 1:02.58, which has stood as the Penn State standard since 2000. Loxsom's performance also better the Ashenfelter Indoor record of 1:02.17, which was set by Villanova's Paul Moser in 2003. The Nittany Lions fared well in the event overall, with senior Lionel Williams (Staten Island, N.Y.) taking second place in 1:03.25.
Hartzler posted a big lifetime best in the high jump, clearing 7-1.50 (2.17), which stands as the fourth-best clearance in the country at press time. Hartzler's performance is also worth a spot in Penn State history, as the mark is ties David Coney for the fourth-best effort in the Nittany Lion indoor record books. The Nittany Lions also went one-two in the event, with teammate Sean Reilly (Lagrangeville, N.Y.) taking second with a leap of 6-9.75 (2.08).
The Nittany Lions provided several event sweeps on the afternoon, with senior Shavon Greaves (Lakewood, N.J.) and redshirt-freshman Mahagony Jones (Cleveland, Ohio) going one-two in the women's 60-meter dash. Greaves cruised to victory in 7.45, while Jones posted a personal-collegiate best 7.60. Jones would also take second in the 200-meters, running 24.38 - also a collegiate PR. Jones led a swarm of Nittany Lions, who covered second through eighth places in the event, including Caitlin Defusco (Schwenksville, Pa.), Katie Wolf (Potomac, Md.) Ije Iheoma (Holland, Pa.), Doris Anyanwu (Beltsville, Md.), Megan Duncan (North Huntingdon, Pa.), and Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas). Iheoma and Anyanwu also impressed in the 500, taking second and third in 1:13.04, and 1:13.95, respectively. Both times are worthy of spots on Penn State's all-time top five indoor list.
The Nittany Lions also provided a presence in the men's sprints, taking three out of the top four spots in both the 60 and 200. Freshman Brady Gehret (Altoona, Pa.) paced the Lions, coming out on top of the 200-meter field with a meet-record and collegiate-PR 21.41. Sophomore Emunael Mpanduki (Harare, Zimbabwe) took second overall in a PR 21.59, and classmate Aaron Nadolsky (Altoona, Pa.) turned in a fourth-place effort in 21.93. Gehret and Mpanduki would also fare well in the 60, with Gehret in second in 7.00, Mpanduki in third in 7.06, and junior Anya Uzoh (Laurel, Md.) in fourth in 7.09.
Penn State was equally as dominant in the men's throws, collecting the top five finishing spots in the men's 35-pound weight throw, led by sophomore Nabil Mubarak (Lawrenceville, Ga.), who posted a personal-best 59-2 (18.03). Redshirt sophomore Logan Caldwell (Ebensburg, Pa.) would take second with an effort of 58-4.50 (17.79), while senior Blake Eaton (Allegany, N.Y.), senior Joe Kovacs (Nazareth, Pa.) - who was competing unattached - and redshirt freshman Will Barr (Urbana, Ohio) covered the third through fifth-place finishing positions. Kovacs led the way in the shot put with a meet-record effort of 60-6.50 (18.45), with Eaton finishing second overall with a throw of 60-0.50 (18.30). Mubarak and Caldwell would make it four Nittany Lions on top, finishing third and fourth, respectively.
Elsewhere in the field events, the Nittany Lions earned a pair of victories in the triple jump, thanks to sophomore Hanif Johnson (Harrisburg, Pa.) and freshman Marlene Ricketts (Westbury, N.Y.). Johnson posted a leap of 48-11.75 (14.93) to win the Penn State Relays title in the event for the second-straight year, while Ricketts made good on her first-collegiate competition with an effort of 38-9.75 (11.83) to better the field by more than a foot. Junior Jocelyn Witmer (Lancaster, Pa.) also earned a field-event victory, clearing 11-9.75 (3.60) to take top honors in the women's pole vault.
The Nittany Lions also enjoyed a great deal of success in the relay events, picking up wins in the women's 4x400-meter and 4x800-meter relays, as well as the men's 4x400 and 4xMile events. Anyanwu, Greaves, Jones, and Iheoma combined to run a meet-record 3:38.66 - the fourth-best mark in Division I - to win the women's 4x400, while Williams, Gehret, Loxsom, and Mark Filandro (Oakland, N.J.) ran 3:11.83 - also a meet record - to take the men's race. In the 4xMile, the quarter of Colin Anderson (Northport, N.Y.), Tyler Corkedale (West Windsor, N.J.), Danny Pawola (Naperville, Ill.) and Nick Scarpello (Jameson, Pa.) combined for an event win in 17:24.16, with fellow Nittany Lions Marta Klebe (Chesterbrook, Pa.), Kalyn Fisher (Lewisburg, Pa.), Coleen Shannon (Andover, Mass.), and Rebekka Simko (Mentor, Ohio) bettering the women's 4x800 field in 9:03.06.
The Nittany Lions will be back in action next weekend, hosting the Nittany Lion Challenge at Ashenfelter Track. The field is set to include Penn State, Florida, Albany, Maryland, and Cornell.