June 6, 2013
EUGENE, Ore.: June 6, 2013 - Sophomore Robby Creese (Mount Airy, Md.) advanced to the men's 1500-meter final, highlighting a full day of action for the Nittany Lions at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships, Thursday at Historic Hayward Field at the University of Oregon. Also faring well were redshirt-juniors Mahagony Jones (Cleveland, Ohio), and Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas), as well as senior Natalie Bower (Pleasant Unity, Pa.) who each provided outstanding performances en route to United States Track and Field/Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) Second Team All-America status.
The Nittany Lions also earned Second Team All-America standing in both the men's and women's 4x400-meter relay, thanks to efforts from Kiah Seymour (Washington, D.C.), Jones, Shelley Black (Laflin, Pa.), and Dynasty McGee (Flint, Mich.) on the women's side, as well as Bernard Bennett-Green (Philadelphia, Pa.), Emunael Mpanduki (Harare, Zimbabwe), Aaron Nadolsky (Altoona, Pa.), and Brandon Bennett-Green (Philadelphia, Pa.) in the men's competition.
In a tight clump of athletes with just 200 meters to go, Creese managed to free himself from traffic, accelerating over the final meters to finish in 3:43.55, and snatch a spot in Saturday's final. In qualifying for the final, Creese stands to become the first Nittany Lion to pick up All-America status in the event since Bob Hamer in 1994.
Britton copped Second Team All-America honors via a 10th-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles. The redshirt-junior also enjoyed a lifetime best in the effort, going 13.06 to place fifth in her semi-final section. The performance also improves Britton's status as the second-fastest hurdler in program history, as she stands second-to-only Aleesha Barber, who holds the school record at 12.85. The finish was also the second-career top 10 finish for the junior, who placed ninth in the short hurdles as a sophomore in 2011. The event was arguably the most hotly contested event of the competition thus far, with Clemson's Brianna Rollins setting a collegiate record at 12.47 in Britton's section.
Jones held her own in a blistering semi-final heat of the 200 meters, clocking an all-conditions lifetime best 23.05 (+2.2) to finish fourth against the nation's top sprinters. Jones would come up just over a tenth of a second shy of a spot in the final, placing 10th overall. The junior, who placed 16th in the 100 meters on Wednesday, earns her second Second Team All-America finish of the Championships. The women's 200 was another event to feature sizzling preliminary times, as Jones' performance would have qualified for the final in all previous NCAA competitions.
The Nittany Lion women's mile relay would place 14th overall with a finishing time of 3:35.23, including an official split of 52.49 for McGee on the anchor. Penn State would also pick up a 14th-place standing on the men's side, with Brandon Bennett-Green providing a 45.83 anchor to cap the Lions' fifth-place finish in their semi-final section.
Bower finished 15th overall in the 3,000-meter steeplechase - in her first-career NCAA appearance on the track. Bower broke the tape in 10:17.76, closing out a stellar Nittany Lion career, and earning Second Team All-America honors.
Junior Melissa Kurzdorfer (Lancaster, N.Y.) saw her 2013 season come to close on Thursday, finishing 19th in the women's discus.
Action in Eugene continues on Friday, featuring Nittany Lions Brannon Kidder (Lancaster, Ohio), and Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.) in the men's 800-meter final, as well as Sean Reilly (Lagrangeville, N.Y.) in the men's high jump.