Jan. 5, 2012
Preliminary Heat Sheets | Penn State Relays Time Schedule
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.: January 5, 2012 - The Nittany Lion track and field squads will take to the competition field for the first time this season, hosting the Penn State Relays, set for Saturday, at Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track. Penn State will welcome a host of programs from around the Northeast for the early season event, including Lock Haven, Pittsburgh, St. Francis (Pa.), St. Joseph's, St. Peter's, Rider, Robert Morris, and UMBC.
About the Penn State Relays …
When: Saturday, January 7 (10:00 a.m.)
Where: Ashenfelter III Indoor Track
Results:
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Coming off an outstanding 2011 campaign, the Nittany Lions will use this weekend to shake the rust off after a full fall of conditioning, as well as promising efforts at Blue/White Meet last month. Leading the charge of competitors this weekend will be sprint standouts and returning All-Americans Ije Iheoma (Holland, Pa.), Doris Anyanwu (Beltsville, Md.), and Aaron Nadolsky (Altoona, Pa.). Iheoma, who is also an NCAA individual qualifier in the open 400-meters, and Anyanwu were both members of the Nittany Lions' All-America 4x400-meter relays during both the indoor and outdoor seasons, while Nadolsky helped lead the men's mile relay to a fifth-place effort at the NCAA Indoor Championships, and was also a member of school record relays in the event inside and outside in 2011. Also back in 2012 is star hurdler Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas), who qualified for the NCAA Championships both the 100- and 400-meter hurdles last spring, and looks to be one of the top dogs in the 60-meter hurdles on both the conference and national levels this year.
Along with its' returners, the Nittany Lion sprints contingent will welcome a slew of promising newcomers, including sprint stars redshirt-freshman Kirsten Nieuwendam (Parimaribo, Suriname) and true freshman Dynasty McGee (Ypsilanti, Mich.). On the men's side, in-state standouts freshman Matt Gilmore (Elkins Park, Pa.) and sophomore transfer Brandon Bennett-Green (Elkins Park, Pa.) will get their first chance to wear the Blue and White coming off outstanding success in the sprints while at Cheltenham High School.
Following the lead of 800-meter prodigy Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.), the Nittany Lions have added another round of talented freshman to their middle distance stable, featuring in-state stars Wade Endress (Altoona, Pa.), and Connor Manley (Jamison, Pa.) - both freshmen with stellar resume and the PIAA and national levels. Coming from out of state are top recruits Ryan Brennan (Chester, N.Y.) and Robby Creese (Mt. Airy, Md.), who both come in with outstanding credentials in the middle distances.
The high jump will feature high-flyers sophomore Jon Hendershot (Nazareth, Pa.) and junior Sean Reilly (Lagrangeville, N.Y.), who both enjoyed stellar performances at Blue/White. Reilly topped out at 7-0.25 (2.14) during the outdoor season in 2011, qualifying for the NCAA Eastern Preliminary Round. Also looking to pick up where he left off in 2011 will be redshirt junior Hanif Johnson (Harrisburg, Pa.), who earned second-team All-America honors via a 15th-place finish in the triple jump at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, along with senior long-jump specialist Doug Moppert (Malvern, Pa.), who placed third in the Big Ten long jump last spring. Johnson also has several Big Ten podium finishes to his credit, placing third in the triple jump during both the indoor and outdoor campaigns last year.
Another newcomer to watch is sophomore-transfer Melissa Kurzdorfer (Lancaster, N.Y.). Kurzdorfer had a banner year at Kent State as a freshman, claiming second in the 20-lb weight at the MAC Championships, before finishing 12th in the hammer at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Joining Kurzdorfer in the circle is senior Jane Swenson (Brandon, S.D.), who impressed during the outdoor season with a PR toss of 52-6 (16.00) in the shot put.
Action gets underway at 10:00 a.m., on Saturday. For more on Penn State Track and Field, log on to www.GoPSUsports.com.