April 27, 2012
Penn Relays Results | Video Interview: Joe Kovacs | Video: Kovacs' Winning Throw | Video Interview: Men's SMR | Video Interview: Beth Alford-Sullivan
PHILADELPHIA, Pa.: April 27, 2012 - Senior Joe Kovacs (Nazareth, Pa.) tied the Penn State shot put record in an event-winning effort while the men's sprint medley quartet of Aaron Nadolsky (Altoona, Pa.), Brandon Bennett-Green (Elkins' Park, Pa.), Brady Gehret (Altoona, Pa.) and Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.) picked up the program's second-straight "Championship of America" victory in the event , Friday at the Penn Relays Carnival at Franklin Field. Kovacs led an outstanding showing by the Nittany Lions in the field events on Friday morning, as sophomore Marlene Ricketts (Westbury, N.Y.) also picked up a victory by winning the "eastern" section of the women's triple jump. Actions at Penn continues throughout the afternoon on Friday.
Following solid 200-meter legs from both Nadolsky, and Bennett-Green, Gehret blew open the race with a split of 45.6 on the 400-meter carry, leaving it to Loxsom to cruise to the finish with a 1:50.0 split on the 800-meter anchor. The foursome finished in 3:18.47, running away from the field by nearly three seconds. The victory marks the Lions' second-straight in the event, with Nadolsky, Gehret, and Loxsom all returning from last year's winning contingent.
The win also marks the 24th Penn Relays wheel in men's program history, dating back to 1920. All told, the Nittany Lions have taken top honors in the men's sprint medley on five occasions.
The Lions were just as stellar in the relays, led by a 3:08.60 heat victory from the men's 4x400-meter relay. The Nittany Lion squad, including four Pennsylvania high-school products in Nadolsky, Matt Gilmore (Elkins' Park, Pa.), Gehret, and Bennett-Green bettered the a stellar heat, followed by Mississippi State in second at 3:10.41, and St. Augustine's in 3:10.98.
With Gehret opening up a slight lead for the Lions thanks to a 46-second split on the third leg, Bennett-Green took the stick on the anchor and was quickly joined by Mississippi State standout Tavaris Tate, who has already run 45.45 in the open 400 this spring. Bennett-Green held his ground, sprinting away from the Bulldog down the homestretch to impress his hometown Philadelphia crowd, and secure the Nittany Lion victory. The Lions, who ran the third-fastest time in qualifying, will move on to the "Championship of America" 4x400 on Saturday afternoon, which is set to feature Texas A&M, LSU, Penn State, Oregon, Texas Tech, Missippi State, Pittsburgh, and North Carolina.
Following a slow start to the day, Kovacs stood seventh overall going into the final, but proceeded to launch three throws over 63-feet on his final attempts, including an outdoor personal-best toss of 65-5 (19.94), which ties the long-standing Penn State record in the event. Kovacs now shares the all-time Nittany Lion lead with former NCAA Champion C.J. Hunter, whose record performance has stood since 1990. In fact, Kovacs is the first Nittany Lion to win the "championship" shot at Penn since Hunter won back-to-back titles in 1989 and 1990.
Kovacs vaulted from fourth to first in the Nittany Lion record books in the efforts, surpassing both 2011 graduate Blake Eaton (64-2.50/19.57; 2010), and Knute Hjeltnes (64-0.25/19.51); 1975).
Ricketts also turned in a winning effort, taking top honors in her section of the triple jump with a wind-aided leap of 41-5.25 (12.63). Also faring well in the triple jump was senior Tanaya Lloyd (Philadelphia), who placed fourth overall in the "college" division triple jump with a windy 41-1.50 (12.53).
Closing out a stellar weekend in the field events, was sophomore Melissa Kurzdorfer (Lancaster, N.Y.), who picked up a fourth-place finish in the women's "championship" discus, to go along with her victory in the hammer on Thursday. Kurzdorfer threw a season-best 159-4 (48.57) in the effort, which stands as the sixth-best effort in the Penn State record books.
Action at Penn continues at 9:00 a.m., on Saturday morning, and concludes with the men's 4x400-meter championship at 6:00 p.m.