April 26, 2012
Video Interviews || Women's DMR || Lauren Kenney || Melissa Kurzdorfer
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - Sophomore Melissa Kurzdorfer (Lancaster, N.Y.) and freshman Lauren Kenney (State College, Pa.) turned in victories in the "championship" sections of their respective events, Thursday at the 118th running of the Penn Relays at Franklin Field, on the campus of the University of Pennsylvania. Also performing well was the women's distance medley relay contingent of Bekka Simko (Mentor, Ohio), Ijeoma Iheoma (Holland, Pa.), Marta Klebe (Chesterbrook, Pa.), and Kara Millhouse (Boiling Springs, Pa.), which clocked a school-record 11:08.41 to better a 30-year old school record.
Kurzdorfer dominated the hammer competition, bettering the competition by nearly 10 feet, while Kenney paced an outstanding showing by the Nittany Lions in the javelin, with sophomore Laura Loht (McClure, Pa.) coming in third in the event.
Kurzdorfer wasted no time in taking the lead, launching a toss of 205-1 (62.53) on her first attempt, which would hold up as the top throw of the day. Kurzdorfer, who was making her first-career appearance at Penn, is the first Nittany Lion to win the women's championship hammer since Jennifer Leatherman took top honors in 2006.
Kenney had an outstanding afternoon, turning in a personal-best throw of 160-8 (48.99) in the victory. Kenney's PR toss also stands as the seventh-farthest effort in the Nittany Lion record books. The freshman is no stranger to success at Penn, having won the high school championship a year ago, via a meet-record attempt of 156-2 (47.62). Kenney also marks the third-straight victory by the Nittany Lions in the event, following Karlee McQuillen, who took titles in 2010 and 2011. Behind Kenney was Loht, who threw 151-2 (46.09) for third to mark her second-straight top three finish at the Relays.
Simko led off the distance medley on the 1200-meters, keeping the Lions in line with the lead pack, thanks to a split of 3:23.0. Iheoma took the baton for the 400-meter leg, and sprinted to a readout of 52.8 - the second-fastest split of the race. Klebe held the Lions in third over the 800-meter carry, splitting 2:09.8 before handing off to Millhouse on the anchor. Millhouse, who set the school-record in the 10,000-meters just a week ago, surged to the lead back from the get-go, and clipped off a 4:42.8 to bring the Lions home in third overall. Villanova won the race, finishing in 11:01.03, with Tennessee following in second in 11:03.53.
The Lions' effort bettered the long-standing 11:09.50 set by Tammie Hart, Patty Murnane, Terry Pioli, and Mary Rawe in 1981.
The Lions continue to excel in the distances during the Penn Relays "Distance Carnival" led by a personal-best 10:14.27 from Natalie Bower (Pleasant Unity, Pa.) to finish fourth overall, and second among collegians in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Also running well were Emily Giannotti (Coudersport, Pa.), Lindsey Graybill (Macungie, Pa.), and Abbie Benson (Elma, N.Y.), who ran 10:28.82, 10:29.97, and 10:35.53, respectively - lifetime bests for all three Nittany Lions. Bower's PR puts her third in school history, while Giannotti, Graybill and Benson move to eighth, ninth, and tenth.
The Nittany Lion men were equally as outstanding in the distances, led by seniors Kyle Dawson (Coatesville, Pa.), and Vince McNally (Paoli, Pa.), who finished in 14:04.36, and 14:06.94, respectively, good for sixth and eighth in the men's "championship" 5,000-meters.
Also performing well in the field events on Thursday morning was senior Jocelyn Witmer (Lancaster, Pa.), who cleared 12-5.50 (3.80) to place third in the women's "college" pole vault. Freshman Sarah Palmer (Schuylerville, N.Y.) also competing on Thursday, placing 10th in the women's "eastern" high jump with a clearance of 5-6 (1.68).
Action at the Penn Relays continues on Friday, and concludes on Saturday evening. For more on Nittany Lion track and field, log on to www.GoPSUsports.com.