March 9, 2012
BOISE, Idaho: March 9, 2012 - Freshman Robby Creese (Mount Airy, Md.) continued to keep the nation on notice on Friday, advancing through the preliminary rounds of the mile run, at the NCAA Indoor Championships at Boise State University. Also competing individually were juniors Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas), and Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn), who came up short of advancing in their respective events, but will earn Second Team All-America status.
Falling slightly off the pace as the race began to unwind, Creese once again relied on his outstanding finishing kick to close in 28.47 for his final 200 - the second-fastest final lap of anyone in the race. With Creese's heat running significantly faster than the other preliminary section, the freshman's finishing time of 4:04.89 was good for fifth in the heat, as well as the fifth-fastest time of the afternoon.
This marks the second-straight year that the Nittany Lions have had an entrant in the men's mile final at the NCAA Indoor Championships, as Ryan Foster placed third in the event a year ago.
Meanwhile, Britton saw her indoor season come to a close, finishing 16th in the 60-meter hurdles in 8.40. Britton's finish is good for Second Team All-America honors - the second such citation of her career after finishing ninth in the 100-meter hurdles at the 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championships.
Loxsom placed 15th overall in the men's 800-meter preliminaries. The Second Team All-America finish will also be the second of Loxsom's career, having earned the honor at last year's indoor championships. The junior also has a pair of First Team All-America certificates to his credit.
Also set to compete tomorrow is the men's 4x400-meter relay, consisting of Aaron Nadolsky (Altoona, Pa.), Brandon Bennett-Green (Elkins Park, Pa.), Loxsom, and Brady Gehret (Altoona, Pa.). The quartet clocked a school-record 3:05.22 at the Alex Wilson Invitational last weekend, coming into the championships with the third-fastest performance in the country.
Action in Boise continues on Saturday. Creese will get things started for the Lions in the mile final at 6:15 p.m., MST.