May 11, 2013
COLUMBUS, Ohio -
Bolstered by a gold-medal finish by sophomore Lauren Kenney (State College, Pa.) in the javelin, the Nittany Lion women's track and field team is tied for second place after the two days of competition, Saturday at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships at Jesse Owens Stadium. Also making a trip to the awards stand was junior Laura Loht (McClure, Pa.), who completed the Nittany Lion sweep in the javelin, thanks to a second-place finish. Kenney and Loht led a 23-point onslaught by the Nittany Lions in the event, including scorers in first, second, fifth, and eighth. Meanwhile, senior Natalie Bower (Pleasant Unity, Pa.) ended her Big Ten career with a bang, turning in a third-place finish in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase.
"It was a phenomenal day for our women's team," said Director and Head Coach of Track and Field/Cross Country Beth Alford-Sullivan. "We hit on all cylinders on the women's side, led by the dynamic duo of Lauren and Laura and their one-two finish in the women's javelin. We positioned perfectly for the finals tomorrow and it will be a great championship battle for the Nittany Lions."
The Lions will be in a fight to the finish on Sunday, going into the final day of competition with 47 points. Wisconsin leads the way with eight of 21 events in the books, thanks to a 51-point total. Nebraska is tied with the Nittany Lions for second with 47, while Illinois stands fourth with 31. Michigan rounds out the top five with 25.
Kenney wasted no time in taking the lead, launching a toss of 173-10 (52.98) on her first attempt and holding the lead throughout the competition. After being pushed from second to third by a PR toss from Nebraska's Maggie Malone, Loht came out swinging, retaking the runner up spot with a season-best effort of 168-9 (51.44) to earn her third-straight trip to the Big Ten medal stand. In fact, the Nittany Lions have had a strong hold on the javelin over the past several seasons, winning three-straight titles in the event, including victories by Karlee McQuillen in 2011, Loht in 2012, and Kenney in 2013.
Sophomore Melanie Leszcynski (Audobon, Pa.) and junior Megan Boyer (Millersburg, Pa.) would add fifth and eighth-place finishes respectively, finishing out the Nittany Lions' impressive total in the event. Leszcynski posted a lifetime-best 143-11 (43.87) on the afternoon, while Boyer nabbed the eighth and final scoring spot via a toss of 136-4 (41.55).
Bower was also at the top of her game, finishing third in a competitive steeplechase field with a lifetime-best 10:12.42, to earn her first-career Big Ten medal finish.
Natalie Bower |
Also picking up scoring finishes in Saturday finals were Jane Swenson (Brandon, S.D.) and junior Melissa Kurzdorfer (Lancaster, N.Y.) in the shot put. The duo squeaked in for the seventh, and eighth scoring spots, with Swenson taking seventh with a season-best 50-10.25 (15.50), and Kurzdorfer coming eighth with a toss of 49-7.75 (15.13).
The Nittany Lions also fared extremely well over the course of Saturday's preliminary rounds, including a sensational afternoon from redshirt junior Mahagony Jones (Cleveland, Ohio), who posted the day's best performances in both the 100- and 200-meters. Jones began the afternoon with a lifetime-best effort of 11.40 in the 100-meters, which ranks as the second-best effort among Big Ten competitors in 2013. The junior came back with a vengeance in the 200, speeding to a sizzling lifetime best of 23.15 - the fastest performance of the day by nearly three tenths of a second. Jones, along with teammates Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas), Kiah Seymour (Washington, D.C.) and Dynasty McGee (Flint, Mich.), also posted an outstanding effort in the 4x100-meter relay, going 45.37 to advance to Sunday's event final.
The Blue and White enjoyed a banner day in the sprints and hurdles overall, advancing all four Nittany Lion competitors through the preliminary rounds of the 400-meter hurdles. Seymour - just a freshman - led the way with a PR effort of 58.41, which stands as the sixth-fastest performance in the Penn State record books. Britton, sophomore Shelley Black (Laflin, Pa.), and senior Doris Anyanwu (Beltsville, Md.) also moved through the rounds, turning in finishing times of 59.13, 59.77, and 1:01.13, respectively.
Britton was also a double qualifier individually, turning in the fastest time of the afternoon in the 100-meter hurdles at 13.40. Black was a near miss in the event, as the redshirt-freshman crossed the finish line in 13.90 for 10th place overall - just .02 away from a qualifying position.
The Nittany Lions will have at least one representative in every event in the sprints and hurdles on Sunday, with McGee rounding things out in the 400 meters. McGee clocked a season-best 54.72 - the fifth-fastest effort - in her preliminary section.
The success stretched the middle distances, with junior Marta Klebe (Chesterbrook, Pa.) nabbing a qualifying spot in the women's 1500 meters, thanks to a finishing time of 4:25.73 - good for third in her section.
Action picks up tomorrow morning, beginning with the women's triple jump and women's discus competitions at 11:00 a.m. For more on Nittany Lion Track and Field, log on to www.GoPSUsports.com.