March 24, 2011
Entries and Results
Coverage at Flotrack.org
PALO ALTO, Calif. - A quintet of Nittany Lions will kick off the outdoor track and field season this weekend, competing at the Stanford Invitational on Friday and Saturday, March 25-26, and Cobb Track and Angell Field. The Nittany Lions will travel longer distance standouts Ryan Foster (Tasmania, Australia), Caitlin Lane (Greenwich, N.Y.), Kara Millhouse (Boiling Springs, Pa.), Brooklyne Ridder (Cincinnati, Ohio) and Natalie Bower (Pleasant Unity, Pa.) for a competition that has historically yielded some of the fastest times of the entire outdoor season in the distance races in near perfect racing conditions.
Foster and Lane are both coming off outstanding efforts at the NCAA Indoor Championships, where Foster earned his third-career All-America certificate and Lane captured Second Team All-America status in her first-career appearance at the national indoor meet. Foster posted a third-place finish in the mile run, becoming the first Nittany Lion men's team member to earn All-America honors in the event since 1988. Foster - a senior - will compete in a stacked 1500-meter field at Stanford, an event in which he owns a personal best of 3:41.26 - the 10th-fastest time in Division I in 2010.
Lane, who finished 14th in the mile run at NCAAs, will up her racing distance this weekend, taking on the field in the 5,000-meters. The junior mounted an impressive indoor campaign this winter, clocking a PR 4:38.37 for the mile - the second-fastest time in school history - to go along with a school-record run of 2:45.95 for 1,000-meters. Lane, whose mile time ranked 10th nationally in 2011, goes into the competition with a personal-best 16:39.18 for 5K. Also running the 5,000 will be Ridder, who was the top Nittany Lion in the event during the indoor season with a personal-best effort of 16:25.97. Ridder has hit her stride as a sophomore - especially on the conference level - earning All-Big Ten status in cross country via a ninth-place finish, and scoring a fifth-place finish in the 5K at the Big Ten Indoor Championships.
Also coming off a stellar indoor season is Millhouse, who is scheduled to race the 10,000-meters at Stanford. Millhouse also impressed at the conference meet this winter, posting fourth-place finishes in both the 3,000-meters and 5,000. The junior would also go on to clock a 5K PR of 16:28.05 at the Alex Wilson Last Chance. Millhouse came up just short of a scoring performance in the 10,000 at last year's Big Ten Outdoor Championships, placing 13th in her first-ever attempt at the event.
Bower will also take on an event for the first time in 2011, entering the 3,000-meter steeplechase. The sophomore enjoyed outstanding success in the race in 2010, qualifying for the NCAA First Round with a personal-best effort of 10:37.66. Bower has showed tremendous promise throughout her sophomore campaign, turning in a 14th-place and All-Big Ten finish in cross country, and posting a PR of 16:48.11 for 5K - good for 10th at the Big Ten Indoor Championships.
Bower will be the first to take the track this weekend, with the steeplechase slated to start at 5:30 p.m., PDT, on Friday evening. The rest of the Nittany Lions will also compete on Friday night. For more on Penn State Track and Field, log on to www.GoPSUsports.com.