April 5, 2014
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State women's track & field team took the Crimson Tide Invitational team title, while the men's team finished second to begin the 2014 outdoor season in fine fashion.
"PSU Track and Field opened the season with great results," said Head Coach and Director of Track & Field Beth Alford-Sullivan. "The Crimson Tide Invite produced some outstanding early-season results, and our athletes represented well. It was great for the women to win again, and our men held their own with their second place finish. I am pleased with our full-team efforts and think we have two quality, well-rounded teams for this spring season."
On the track for the women, junior Dynasty McGee (Flint, Mich.) won both the 200 meters (24.23) and the 400 meters (54.12) to lead the charge. McGee also ran the 4x400 meter relay, helping Penn State to a first-place finish with a time of 3:37.46 to round out competition at the Crimson Tide Invite. Redshirt-senior Mahagony Jones (Cleveland, Ohio), freshman Tichinia Rhodes (Philadelphia, Pa.) and sophomore Kiah Seymour (Washington, D.C.) joined McGee to comprise the winning relay.
The Nittany Lions dominated the 400-meter hurdles, with Seymour crossing the line first with an NCAA-leading time of 57.12, which is also third all-time at Penn State. Redshirt-senior Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas) and Shelley Black (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) completed the PSU sweep, taking second and third in the event. Britton also won the 100-meter hurdles in 13.65 for a strong showing.
Jones finished second in the 100 meters in a time of 1.49, while Penn State's 4x100 meter relay team of Britton, Jones, freshman Megan Osborne (Chillicothe, Ohio) and Seymour crossed the line second with a time of 45.35.
Senior Marta Klebe (Chesterbrook, Pa.) finished third in the 800 meters in a time of 2:08.03. Junior Dani Kocjancic (Kane, Pa.) ran a PR in the 1500 meters to finish sixth for Penn State, scoring additional points on the women's side.
Highlighting a strong day for the men's team, freshman Byron Robinson (Chesapeake, Va.) set a meet record in the 400 hurdles, debuting with a PR of 50.75. That time is fifth in the NCAA and eighth all-time at Penn State .
Sophomores Brannon Kidder (Lancaster, Ohio) and Za'Von Watkins (Liverpool, N.Y.) went 1-2 in the 800 meters on the men's side. Redshirt-junior Ryan Brennan (Chester, N.Y.) also scored team points for the Nittany Lions in the event with his sixth-place finish.
Junior Sancho Barrett (Amityville, N.Y.) narrowly missed a win in the 110-meter hurdles, crossing in 14.39- just .004 of a second from the winning time.
Both the 4x100 meter relay and the 4x400 meter relay notched third-place finishes for Penn State on the men's side. The 4x100 meter relay team, which posted a time of 41.29, was made up of senior Aaron Nadolsky (Altoona, Pa.), Robinson, Barrett and Alex Kenney (State College, Pa.). The 4x400 meter relay team was comprised of Nadolsky, Robinson, Watkins and Bernard Bennett-Green (Elkins Park, Pa.) and finished in a time of 3:11.48.
Bennett-Green was also third in the 400 meters (47.81) and Kenney finished fourth in the 100 meters with a 10.73 to round out the scoring on the track for the men's team.
Both the men's and women's teams got in done in the field events as well. Junior Sarah Palmer (Gansevoort, N.Y.) and freshman India McCoy (Ambridge, Pa.) went 1-3 in the high jump, clearing 5-7. Senior Jon Hendershot (Nazareth, Pa.) cleared 7-1.5 to open his final outdoor campaign as a Nittany Lion with a third place finish. In the triple jump, junior Steven Waithe (Parkville, Md.) and junior Brian Leap (Bellwood, Pa.) took first and third in the triple jump for Penn State. Waithe recorded a 49-11.75, while Leap reached a mark of 48-10.25. Waithe (fourth) and Leap (sixth) also scored points with their top-six finishes in the long jump.
Freshman Michael Shuey (Johnsonburg, Pa.) set a meet record with his throw of 238-6 in the javelin, which is second all-time in PSU history. Freshman Cole Proffitt (Manheim, Pa.) also scored points for his fifth-place throw of 205-11. Senior Laura Loht (McClure, Pa.) took the top spot on the women's side with a throw of 167-2, while junior Lauren Kenney (State College, Pa.) finished third with a 164-8. Penn State went 2-3 in women's discus with outstanding final throws from sophomore Rachel Fatherly (Williamsport, Pa.) with a PR of 161-5 and senior Melissa Kurzdorfer's (Lancaster, N.Y.) throw measuring at 158-9. Kurzdorfer also finished third in the hammer throw, with a toss of 191-8. Redshirt-senior Will Barr (Urbana, Ohio) finished third in discus with a throw of 173-0.
The Nittany Lions are in action next from April 11-13 as part of the squad competes at the Sun Angel Track Classic in Tempe, Ariz. (April 11-13) and the remainder of the squad stays close to home at the Bucknell Invite (April 12-13).
--NITTANY LIONS--