April 29, 2011
Men's Sprint Medley Relay
Director and Head Coach Beth Alford-Sullivan
Associate Head Coach Chris Johnson
Assistant Coach John Gondak
PHILADELPHIA, Pa.: April 29, 2011 - Redshirt freshman Aaron Nadolsky (Altoona, Pa.), freshman Brady Gehret (Altoona, Pa.), sophomore Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.), and senior Ryan Foster (Tasmania, Australia) combined to win the Nittany Lions' first men's Penn Relays title since 1987, posting a nail-biting victory over sprint stalwarts Florida, and Texas A&M in the sprint medley relay, Friday at Franklin Field. With just over half a second separating first through third finishers, Foster out-leaned the Gator Sean Obinwa at the wire on the 800-meter anchor, breaking the tape at 3:17.10, which also stands as a new Penn State record.
The Nittany Lion quartet enjoyed the first Championship of America victory by a men's squad since Penn State took top honors in the 4x800-meter relay in 1987. The victory also marked the Nittany Lions' first sprint medley title since 1942, and fourth SMR win overall. All told, the Nittany Lion men now own a total of 24 Penn Relays wheels. The effort also bettered the previous Penn State best of 3:17.74, set by Bryant Littlejohn, Sid Lewis, Barry Robinson, and Randy Moore in 1985.
With Nadolsky and Gehret holding the Lions in position near the front of the pack over the opening pair of 200-meter legs, Loxsom took the stick and covered the 400-meter carry in 46.3 - the fastest quarter split of the afternoon - handing off to Foster in second place. Foster then sealed the deal, sprinting to the lead with just over 250-meters remaining on the 800. The senior then covered a charge to the front from Texas A&M's Joey Roberts, and fended off a late surge from Obinwa in the closing meters, edging the Gators in second at 3:17.30, and the Aggies in 3:17.67. Foster's readout was a speedy 1:48.78 - the best split of the day.
Meanwhile, the women's sprint medley also recorded an outstanding finish with the foursome of Shavon Greaves (Lakewood, N.J.), Doris Anyanwu (Beltsville, Md.), Ije Iheoma (Holland, Pa.), and Bekka Simko (Mentor, Ohio), who finished fourth overall in 3:55.24. The squad was also the top ECAC finisher, following only LSU, Florida, and Texas in the Championship of America section.
More to come...