Brannon Kidder advanced to Friday's 800-meter final
June 6, 2013
EUGENE, Ore. - Junior Laura Loht (McClure, Pa.) and sophomore Lauren Kenney (State College, Pa.) earned First-Team All-America status for the second-straight year, thanks to fourth and fifth-place finishes in the women's javelin, Wednesday at the NCAA Outdoor Champions at Historic Hayward Field. Another trio of Nittany Lions would cop Second-Team All-America accolades, including redshirt-junior Mahagony Jones (Cleveland, Ohio) in the 100 meters, freshman Kiah Seymour (Washington, D.C.) in the 400-meter hurdles, and senior Ricky West (Toronto, Ontario) in the 800 meters.
In danger of not making the final and down to her last attempt, Loht provided a clutch performance, turning in a personal-best 172-6 (52.58) to move to third overall and earn another three throws. Kenney posted her top effort on her first throw, going 175-3 (53.42) - the second-best effort of the preliminary round. The action heated up in the final - including a toss of 180-3 (54.95) by eventual winner Freya Jones of Georgia - but Loht wasn't done, launching a lifetime-best toss of 176-9 (53.88) on her penultimate attempt - the third-best throw in school history. Loht's PR was good for fourth, while Kenney's best held up for fifth place overall. The efforts mark the duo's second-straight top five showing at the NCAA Championships, as Loht took third and Kenney took fourth a year ago. Both Nittany Lions are now two-time USTFCCCA First Team All-Americans.
The javelin has been the Nittany Lions' most prolific event at the NCAA level on the women's side with 17 All-America finishes in program history.
The Nittany Lions would also excel in Wednesday's preliminary rounds with both senior Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.), and freshman Brannon Kidder (Lancaster, Ohio) advancing to Friday's 800-meter final. Loxsom - the NCAA runner up indoors - proved to be one of the favorites for the outdoor crown, winning his preliminary heat in 1:48.71. Kidder, who was a member of the Nittany Lions' second-place distance medley at the NCAA Indoor Championships, also impressed, hanging on during a furious last 200 meters, to finish second in his heat and earn one of the automatic-advancing positions. West would close out his Nittany Lion career, finishing 13th overall in the semi-final round to earn USTFCCCA Second Team All-America honors.
Jones and Seymour fared well in the sprints and hurdles, with Jones taking 16th in the women's 100 semi-finals in 11.40. Seymour also held her own, taking 11th overall in the 400 hurdles, thanks to a finishing time of 58.64. Seymour's 11th-place standing is also the top finish of any freshman in the field.
Also competing on Wednesday was junior Melissa Kurzdorfer (Lancaster, N.Y.), who placed 18th in the women's hammer - good for Honorable Mention All-America status.
Action in Eugene continues on Thursday. Kurzdorfer will be the first Nittany Lion in action, competing in the discus at 2:00 p.m., PDT.