April 7, 2012
Coach Beth Alford-Sullivan Interview
BATON ROUGE, La.: April 7, 2012 - The men's 4x400 quartet of Brandon Bennett-Green (Elkins Park, Pa.), Brady Gehret (Altoona, Pa.), Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.) and Emunael Mpanduki (Harare, Zimbawbe) set a school record, leading the Nittany Lion efforts on Saturday at the Battle on the Bayou, hosted by Louisiana State University. Turning in winning efforts on the afternoon were senior Tanaya Lloyd (Philadelphia, Pa.) in the women's triple jump, sophomore Laura Loht (McClure, Pa.) in the women's javelin, and senior Joe Kovacs(Nazareth, Pa.) in the men's shot put.
The Nittany Lions also fared well in team scoring, with the women's squad finishing fifth overall, and the men's team placing sixth. LSU ran away with team titles on both the men's and women's side, while Missippi State claimed runner up honors in the men's standings, and Texas Tech placed second on the women.
The Nittany Lions ended the meet with a bang, thanks to a school-record effort of 3:06.50 from the men's 4x400 - good for third in a stacked field. Bennett-Green led off the Lions with a split of 47.4, followed by Gehret with a readout 45.3 - the fastest-Penn State split of the relay. Loxsom kept things going with a one-lap effort of 46.5, with Mpanduki closing in 46.9. The performance better the previous Nittany Lion best 3:07.19, set by Aaron Nadolsky (Altoona, Pa.), Loxsom, Gehret, and Lionel Williamsin 2011.
Gehret and Bennett-Green highlighted the Lion results in the sprints individually, with Gehret running an outdoor PR 46.29 to take sixth overall in the 400-meters, just ahead of Bennett-Green in eighth with a lifetime-best 46.71. Gehret and Bennett-Green now rank third and sixth, respectively, on the all-time Nittany Lion list.
The women's mile relay also enjoyed a season-best effort, with freshman Dynasty McGee (Ypsilanti, Mich.), sophomore Kirsten Nieuwendam (Parimaribo, Suriname), senior Ije Iheoma (Holland, Pa.), and junior Doris Anyanwu(Beltsville, Md.) running 3:36.07, including splits of 53.5, 53.9, 53.6, and 54.5.
Loht posted a Big Ten leading toss of 163-9 (49.91), bettering her own personal best as well as the Bayou on the Battle meet record. The sophomore, who won her second-straight javelin competition of the season, enjoyed a sensational series, including four throws over 49 meters. Freshman Lauren Kenney (State College, Pa.) would finish second overall - also for the second-straight week - with a throw of 155-9 (47.47). Sophomore Megan Boyer(Millersburg, Pa.) also got in on the scoring, placing eighth with a season-best 133-2 (40.59.).
Lloyd also led a Lion one-two finish in the triple jump, leading the way with a jump of 40-10.25 (12.45). Sophomore Marlene Ricketts(Westbury, N.Y.) followed in second with a season-best attempt of 40-05.50 (12.33).
The Lions had a solid day in the field overall in the field, with Kovacs turning in his second-straight win in the shot put. The senior recorded a personal-outdoor best and meet-record toss of 62-11.25 (19.18) to take top honors, followed by Logan Caldwell(Ebensburg, Pa.) in second with a season-best 58-09.50 (17.92) - the eight-best throw in the Nittany Lion record books. Kovacs' throw currently ranks fourth in PSU history.
Penn State shined in the middle distances throughout the competition, with sophomore Bekka Simko (Mentor, Ohio) running a PR 2:05.40 to place fourth in the 800-meters. Behind Simko, who ran the third-fastest time in the Penn State record books, Marta Klebe (Chesterbrook, Pa.) and Colleen Shannon (Andover, Mass.) turned in PRs of 2:10.08, and 2:10.92 to take first and second in their section. Loxsom was the top finisher in the men's middle distances, clocking 1:47.89 for third in the 800, while Owen Dawson(Coatesville, Pa.) recorded a seventh-place scoring finish at 1:48.97.
Sophomore Will Barr (Urbana, Ohio) and Kovacs each turned in top five finishes in the discus, thanks to season-best tosses of 173-11 (53.00) from Barr, and 170-5 (51.94) from Kovacs. The duo placed fourth and fifth, respectively. Sophomore Melissa Kurzdorfer(Lancaster, N.Y.) also turned in a 2012 best in the women's discus, posting an effort of 157-8 (48.06) for sixth overall. Kurzdorfer would also place third in the hammer - at 196-9 (59.98) - and seventh in the shot put to round out an outstanding weekend.
The Nittany Lions will be back in action next week, making the short trip to the Bison Outdoor Classic at Bucknell. Action is slated for April 14-15 in Lewisburg, Pa.