April 14, 2013
LEWISBURG, Pa.: - Sophomore Robby Creese (Mount Airy, Md.) set a facility record in the 1500 meters, leading a host of outstanding performances by the Nittany Lions track and field squads, Saturday at the Bison Outdoor Classic at Bucknell University. Junior Marta Klebe(Chesterbrook, Pa.) led the way on the women's side, who took top honors in the women's 1500 meters.
Creese paced a bevy of Nittany Lions in the 1500, leading a 1-2-3-4 sweep in the event along with teammates Brannon Kidder (Lancaster, Ohio), Tyler Corkedale (West Windsor, N.J.), and Ricky West(Toronto, Ontario). The sophomore clocked a personal-best 3:41.32 - bettering his own facility record 3:43.79, set in 2012. Creese now stands fourth in the all-time Nittany Lion standings in the event. Next in line was Kidder, who went 3:42.07 for second, moving him to No. 5 in program history. Creese and Kidder now own the second and third fastest performances in Division I on the spring.
Corkedale also enjoyed a big PR in the effort, taking third in a lifetime-best 3:45.93, just ahead of West in fourth in 3:46.33. Also, picking up a heat victory in the 1500 was redshirt-sophomore Matt Fischer (Kennett Square, Pa.), who edged teammate Sam Masters(Columbia, Mo.) - 3:49.36 to 3:49.40 - for the section win.
Klebe led a stellar effort from the Nittany Lion contingent in the women's 1500, taking top honors with a lifetime-best 4:22.71. Klebe's clocking sits at No. 10 in the all-time Penn State standings, as well as fifth in the Big Ten this season. Senior Brooklyne Ridder(Cincinnati, Ohio) made it two Lions in the top three, taking third place overall with a PR 4:27.12.
Also turning in an event win was senior Natalie Bower (Pleasant Unity, Pa.), who came away with an individual victory in the 3,000-meter steeplechase. Bower clocked a season-best 10:16.79 to best the rest of the field by nearly 10 seconds, and come within just over two of her lifetime best. Bower led a strong showing by the Nittany Lions, including Abbie Benson (Elma, N.Y.), Emily Giannotti (Coudersport, Pa.), and Tori Gerlach(Perkasie, Pa.), who finished third, fifth, and sixth, respectively.
Benson, and Gerlach all enjoyed lifetime bests in the effort with Benson finishing in 10:26.44 - the eighth-fastest effort in school history - and Gerlach posting a mark of 10:32.69 - the Nittany Lions' No. 10 clocking all-time.
Highlighting the Lions' results in the long distances was sophomore Katie Rodden(Ardmore, Pa.), who finished fifth in the 10,000-meters, thanks to a lifetime-best 35:21.43. Senior Tom Luff (Emmaus, Pa.) was the top Nittany Lion finisher in the men's 10,000, turning in a PR 30:10.44 for 11th overall.
Sophomore Kerrin Jennings (Glen Mills, Pa.) also garnered a top 10 finish on the evening, taking eighth in the women's 5,000 in 17:04.88.
Sophomore Melanie Leszcynski (Audobon, Pa.) also had a productive outing, taking runner-up honors in the javelin, thanks to a PR toss of 142-04 (43.39).
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