April 13, 2013
Battle On The Bayou Final Results
BATON ROUGE, La.: The Nittany Lion men's and women's track and field squads held their own against outstanding competition - both turning in second-place finishes in the team standings - Saturday at the LSU Invitational - Battle on the Bayou at Bernie Moore Stadium. Sophomore Darrell Hill (Philadelphia, Pa.) led the way individually, launching a career-best effort in the shot put to take over the No. 3 spot in the national rankings in the event.
Hill was one of a host of Nittany Lions to pick up event victories on the weekend, including redshirt-junior Mahagony Jones (Cleveland, Ohio), who came away with top honors in the stacked 100-meter field, to go along with a personal best in the 200 meters. Sophomore Brian Leap (Bellwood, Pa.) was equally as outstanding in the field events, taking home a victory in the long jump, and finishing as the top collegiate competitor in the triple jump.
The Nittany Lion teams both fell shy of toppling host LSU in the team standings, as the fifth-ranked Lady Tigers took the women's title with 188 points. The Nittany Lions followed in second with 139, outdoing Arizona State in third with 134, and Mississippi State in fourth with 96. The No. 10 Tiger men came out on top of a tightly contested team race, scoring 140 points to the No. 19 Nittany Lions' 124. The Lions would knock off No. 17 Arizona State in third with 119, while Connecticut and Mississippi State finished fourth and fifth, respectively, to round out scoring.
Hill posted an outstanding series on the afternoon - including three tosses of 18 meters - hitting a career-best 67-7.25 (19.08) on his sixth and final effort. Hill's toss, which bested the competition by nearly four feet, is not only among the nation's best this season, but is the top performance in the Big Ten, as well as the fifth-best effort in Nittany Lion history.
Also making a steady climb in the all-time Penn State standings was senior Sean Reilly (Lagrangeville, N.Y.), who took top honors in the men's high jump. Reilly was perfect through four bars to win the competition, topping out at a lifetime-best 7-2.25 (2.19). Reilly's effort is the fourth-best clearance in Penn State history, and currently ranks third in the Big Ten. Senior Erika Morgan (Chesapeake, Va.) made it a clean sweep for the Lions in the high jump, besting the women's competition with a clearance of 5-7.25 (1.71). Teammate Ahmenah Richardson (Philadlephia, Pa.) placed second, also posting an effort of 5-7.25 (1.71).
Jones was also on fire, turning in a personal-best 11.55 to win the 100-meter title. Jones performance ranks third in the Penn State record books, and also stands as the third-fastest effort in the Big Ten this season. The redshirt-junior wasn't finished, coming back to run a sizzling 23.43 in the 200 meters - finishing second-to-only multiple-time NCAA Champion Kimberlyn Duncan of LSU. Jones performance vaults her to No. 3 all-time for the Nittany Lions, and stands as the third-best clocking among conference competitors.
Redshirt junior Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas) also impressed in the sprints, finishing third in the 100-meter hurdles, thanks to a season-best 13.50. Britton, who currently rates third in the short hurdles in the conference, would garner another third-place finish on the afternoon, taking bronze-medal honors in the 400-meter hurdles. Britton's season-best effort of 59.21 also stands third in the conference. Both Britton and Jones - along with Kiah Seymour (Washington, D.C.), and Dynasty McGee (Flint, Mich.) - were members of the third-place 4x100-meter relay, which clocked a season-best 45.34. The performance is also third-best in the conference this season.
Leap was stellar in the horizontal jumps, beginning with a victory in the long jump via a performance of 23-8.75 (7.23). The sophomore bounced back to take the top spot among collegians in the triple jump, turning in a season-best 50-2.40 (15.30). Leap's triple jump performance currently rates fifth in the conference. Junior Marlene Ricketts (Westbury, N.Y.) was the top finisher in the women's triple jump, taking second overall with a personal-outdoor best 41-7 (12.67) - just three quarters of an inch from an event victory. Ricketts now stands at No. 5 in the Nittany Lion record books.
Also picking up a field event victory was sophomore Lauren Kenney (State College, Pa.) in the women's javelin. Kenney turned in a meet-record 167-8 (51.10) to come away with her second victory in as many weeks. Junior Laura Loht (McClure, Pa.) followed in second, thanks to a toss of 149-3 (45.49). Freshman Michael Shuey (Johnsonburg, Pa.) fared well in the men's javelin competition, placing second overall with an effort of 223-7 (68.15).
The Nittany Lions will be back in action next weekend, splitting squads between the Bucknell Team Challenge in Lewisburg, Pa., and the Mount SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif.
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