March 6, 2011
SOUTH BEND, Ind./BLACKSBURG, Va. - Notre Dame Results
Virginia Tech Results
Paced by a personal-best performance from junior Caitlin Lane (Greenwich, N.Y.), and a school-record effort from the men's 4x400-meter relay, the Nittany Lion track and field team enjoyed outstanding results on Saturday, competing at both the Alex Wilson Invitational at Notre Dame, and the Virginia Tech Final Qualifier. With over a dozen Nittany Lions in position for national-qualifying berths, Penn State will now await the official announcement of the event fields by the NCAA on Monday, and hit the road for the NCAA Indoor Championships, set for March 11-12, in College Station, Texas.
The Nittany Lions impressed throughout the weekend at Notre Dame, ending the meet with a bang, thanks to a school-record run from the men's 4x400 contingent of redshirt-freshman Aaron Nadolsky (Altoona, Pa.), senior Lionel Williams (Staten Island, N.Y.), sophomore Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.), and freshman Brady Gehret (Altoona, Pa.). Highlighted by sub-46 second splits from both Loxsom, and Gehret, the foursome combined to run Penn State record 3:07.27 to top the Alex Wilson field, and better their previous best 3:09.08, set by the same quartet in January. At press time, the squad stands at the eighth-ranked team in Division I.
After falling off the lead pack in the women's mile, Lane mounted a sensational finishing kick to pass the entire field over the last 200-meters, to win the race and score a personal-best effort of 4:38.37, which also ranks as the second-fastest effort in the Penn State record books, trailing only Bridget Franek's school-record 4:37.95. Lane now stands among the nation's elite, as her PR currently ranks 10th in the NCAA, as was less than a second and a half north of the NCAA automatic standard of 4:37.00.
The women's 4x400-meter relay also ran a solid race at Notre Dame, finishing sixth overall, with a combination 3:37.17 by sophomore Doris Anyanwu (Beltsville, Md.), junior Ije Iheoma (Holland, Pa.), senior Shavon Greaves (Lakewood, N.J.), and senior Megan Duncan (North Huntingdon, Pa.). The effort was the squad's second fastest of the season, just off their season-best 3:35.00, which stands among the top 10 nationally.
Redshirt sophomore Hanif Johnson (Harrisburg, Pa.) was the top Nittany Lion finisher at Virginia Tech, taking eighth in the triple jump with a leap of 49-5.50 (15.07). Junior Doug Moppert (Malvern, Pa.) also recorded an eighth-place effort, thanks to an effort of 23-7.50 (7.20) in the long jump. Senior Bryson Hartzler (Belleville, Pa.) would also turn in a top 10 finish, placing ninth in the high jump with a clearance of 6-8.75 (2.05).
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