Jan. 16, 2012
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Thanks to a historic performance in the 1,000 meters, Nittany Lion freshman Robby Creese (Mt. Airy, Md.) has been named Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week. Creese - in the first individual appearance of his Nittany Lion career - blitzed to an impressive 2:19.53 for the 1000 at the Nittany Lion Challenge last weekend, setting new Collegiate, American Junior, and Penn State records.
After biding his time in the chase pack for the first half of the race, Creese surged to the front of the competition, to bring home the win in record-breaking fashion. The Mt. Airy, Md., native's 2:19.53 bettered nearly ever record on the books in the event, besting Ryan Foster's 2:19.60 from 2010, which stood as the Penn State, Ashenfelter Facility, and Nittany Lion Challenge records. Looking further, Creese's effort bettered Alan Webb's 2:23.68 from 2001, which was recognized as the American Junior Record by USATF, as well as 2008 Olympian and former Kansas State Wildcat Christian Smith's collegiate-record 2:19.57 from 2006. Creese also now stands as the eighth-fastest American in the all-time indoor 1,000-meter rankings.
Creese is the third Penn State athlete to receive conference recognition, following last week's Big Ten winners Mahagony Jones (Cleveland, Ohio) and Hanif Johnson (Harrisburg, Pa.).
The Nittany Lions will be back in action next weekend, hosting the Penn State National on January 27-28, at Ashenfelter III Indoor Track.