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Kurzdorfer Wins Big Ten Hammer Throw Championship to Open Competition

May 16, 2014

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2014 Big Ten Women's Outdoor Day 1 Results
2014 Big Ten Men's Outdoor Day 1 Results

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Senior Melissa Kurzdorfer's (Lancaster, New York) Big Ten championship in the hammer throw was the highlight for the Nittany Lions on day one of the Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Kurzdorfer won her first Big Ten championship with a throw of 198-6. Penn State is tied for third early in the women's competition with 10 points.

"We had great competitive efforts from Brittney Howell and Melissa Kurzdorfer today... it was awesome to see Melissa win!" said Penn State Head Coach and Director of Track & Field Beth Alford-Sullivan. "Conditions were very tough today, but we start day two in a good spot."

Friday was the opening day of competition for the heptathlon and the decathlon, with Penn State's Brittney Howell (Wyncote, Pennsylvania) and Rob Cardina (Lancaster, Pennsylvania) both performing well. Howell used a PR in the 200 meters as well as quality efforts in the 100 hurdles (13.90), high jump (5-8) and shot put (37-0.25) to complete Day 1 with 3,423 points, good enough for the lead. On the strength of a win in the decathlon 400 meters, Cardina is third with 3,846 heading into Day 2 action.

Big Ten Championships action at Purdue resumes Saturday at 11:30 a.m. The Championships conclude Sunday. Follow @PennStateTFXC on Twitter for updates throughout the meet.