April 7, 2013
Video Interviews - Coach Sullivan || Brannon Kidder || Evonne Britton
TUSCALOOSA, Ala. April 6, 2013 - Bolstered by six event victories, including the NCAA's second-ranked javelin mark from sophomore Lauren Kenney (State College, Pa.), the Nittany Lion captured the women's team title, Saturday at the Crimson Tide Invitational at the University of Alabama. The Nittany Lion men's squad also fared well, adding three victories to the program title, highlighted a Big Ten leading effort by freshman Brannon Kidder(Lancaster, Ohio) in the 800 meters.
Clinching the team title with a dramatic victory in the 4x400-meter relay, the Nittany Lion women totaled 115.50 points on the evening, edging out conference rival Nebraska with 108.50. Fellow conference competitor Minnesota scored 102.50 for third, while host Alabama followed in fourth with 80. Missouri and Mississippi State rounded out the scoring in fifth and sixth, respectively. The Nittany Lions also held third own the men's side, coming up with 107 points to finish third overall. Nebraska took the team title with 149, while Alabama claimed runner-up status with 117. Mississippi State and Missouri rounded out the top five.
Kenney, who finished fourth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships a year ago, wasted no time in proving she'll be a national contender again in 2013, unleashing a personal-best 176-11 (53.93) on her first attempt. Kenney's PR, which was nearly 10 feet better than her previous lifetime best, is not only the second-farthest effort in the NCAA this year, but also ranks as the second-best toss in Nittany Lion history. Teammate Laura Loht (McClure, Pa.) made it a Nittany Lion sweep in the event, turning in an effort of 159-7 (48.65) for second. Freshman Michael Shuey(Johnsonburg, Pa.) stood out for the Nittany Lions in the men's javelin, taking second-place overall with a career-best throw of 226-6 (69.04) to improve on his high school PR by nearly 15 feet. Shuey's mark currently stands at No. 16 on the NCAA descending order list.
Freshman Kiah Seymour(Washington, D.C.) impressed in her outdoor debut, taking an individual title in the 400-meter hurdles, and running legs on the winning 4x100- and 4x400-meter relays. Seymour powered down the homestretch in the quarter hurdles, finishing 59.24 - the 10th-best time in Penn State history, and the third-fastest effort in the Big Ten this spring.
Kidder would also open his outdoor season with a bang, posting a wire-to-wire victory in the 800, thanks to a PR 1:47.71 - the second-fastest effort in the NCAA this spring. The freshman led a slew of Nittany Lions in the event, with sophomore Robby Creese (Mount Airy, Md.) following in second in 1:48.98. Senior Ricky West (Toronto, Ontario), sophomore Ryan Brennan (Chester, N.Y.), and freshman Za'Von Watkins(Liverpool, N.Y.) made it five Nittany Lions in the top six, finishing in fourth, fifth, and sixth, respectively. West led the trio with a finishing time of 1:49.46, while Brennan and Watkins came across in 1:49.49, and 1:49.50 - personal outdoor bests for both underclassmen.
Junior Marta Klebe (Chesterbrook, Pa.) engineered a stellar performance in the women's 800, going 2:07.32 to finish third in the top section in the event, and take over No. 6 all time for Penn State.
A trio of Nittany Lion women picked up a pair of victories on the afternoon, including junior Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas), who struck gold as the lead-off leg on the 4x100, and came back to win the 100-meter hurdles, individually. Britton, who redshirted the 2012 outdoor campaign, made her return in fine style, clocking 13.62 in the 100 hurdles to lead teammates Shelley Black (Laflin, Pa.) and Brittney Howell(Wyncote, Pa.), who placed third and fourth, respectively, in 13.82, and 13.83. Black and Howell both improved on their lifetime bests, and move to No. 4, and No. 5 in the Penn State record books.
Junior Marlene Ricketts (Westbury, N.Y.) was another Nittany Lion to come away with one individual and one relay title, taking the triple jump on her own, and anchoring the Lions to victory in the 4x400. Ricketts' posted a leap of 40-11.75 (12.49) to earn top honors in the triple jump, and closed out the Nittany Lions' effort of 3:39.22. Joining Ricketts on the 4x400 were Seymour, Black, and Mahagony Jones(Cleveland, Ohio). Britton, Jones, Seymour, and Howell covered the Nittany Lions' winning 4x100, going 45.84 in the effort.
The men's squad would also notch a victory in the 4x400-meter relay, thanks to a finishing time of 3:07.31 - the fifth-fastest mark in school history. The foursome - which included Emunael Mpanduki (Harare, Zimbabwe), Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.), Aaron Nadolsky (Altoona, Pa.), and Bernard Bennett-Green(Philadelphia, Pa.) - now ranks second in the Big Ten standings, and rates in the top 15 in the NCAA.
Junior Melissa Kurzdorfer (Lancaster, N.Y.) led the way in the throws, turning in a toss of 200-0 (60.96) to take top honors in the hammer throw. Freshman Rachel Fatherly(Williamsport, Pa.) displayed outstanding promise for her career, posting lifetime bests in the hammer, discus, and shot put - moving in to the all-time Penn State top 10 in two of the three events. Fatherly started off her record-setting day with a toss of 171-9 (52.36) in the hammer, taking eighth in a solid field, and nabbing the No. 9 spot in the Nittany Lion record books. Following a PR of 148-11 (45.41) in the discus, Fatherly launched a lifetime-best 49-2.50 (15.00) in the shot put to take over seventh-place all time for PSU.
Also excelling in the field events was senior Sean Reilly (Lagrangeville, N.Y.), who picked up an event win in the high jump, thanks to a clearance of 7-0.25 (2.14), which ties his lifetime best clearance outdoors. Three Nittany Lions nabbed runner-up status in the field events, including sophomore Brian Leap(Bellwood, Pa.) in the triple jump, sophomore Darrell Hill (Philadelphia, Pa.) in the shot put, and junior Will Barr (Urbana, Ohio) in the discus. Leap jumped an outdoor PR 50-0 (15.24) to finish just two inches shy of a victory, while Hill marked a toss of 58-2 (17.73) for second in the shot. Hill's performance is the ninth best in the all-time Penn State standings.
The Nittany Lions will continue their outdoor campaign next weekend, splitting squads between the Bison Outdoor Classic at Bucknell University, and the Battle on the Bayou at Louisiana State. Both competitions are set to start on Saturday, April 13.