Feb. 28, 2015
Final Results
GENEVA, Ohio - The Penn State men's track & field team tallied a fourth-place finish (72 points) at the 2015 Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships Saturday at the SPIRE Institute. Nebraska won the Big Ten title with a score of 127 points.
On the final day of the Big Ten meet, the Nittany Lions tallied four podium finishes, including Robby Creese's (Mount Airy, Md.) second title of the weekend.
A day after competing in multiple events, Creese and Brannon Kidder (Lancaster, Ohio) went back to work for the Nittany Lions. Creese and Kidder both ran in the mile, while Kidder also ran in the 600-meter run.
In the mile, Creese went onto capture his second Big Ten title of the weekend and his second mile Big Ten title in a three-year span. Creese crossed the finish line first (4:11.41) with Kidder right behind him for second (4:11.50).
Kidder then returned later in the day for the 600-meter run. In the 600-meter run, Robert Rhodes (Brooklyn, N.Y.) posted a time of 1:18.53 for sixth, while Kidder clocked in at 1:18.92 to place eighth.
Seniors Brian Leap (Bellwood, Pa.) and Steve Waithe (Parkville, Md.) recorded podium finishes in the triple jump event. On his second-to-last jump, Leap recorded the second-best mark in school history (52-6.75) to take the lead. His distance would not hold as Iowa's Babatunde Amosu won the title on the final jump of the event. Leap's distance Saturday moved him into 10th in the nation.
Waithe rounded out the top-three of the triple jump with his distance of 52-0.
In the final race of his Penn State indoor career, the final of the 60-meter hurdles, Sancho Barrett (Amityville, N.Y.) recorded a personal-best time of 7.89 to finish sixth overall.
Michael McClelland (Washington, Pa.) tied for 10th in the high jump with his mark of 6-8.
The men's 4x400-meter relay of Xavier Smith (Douglassville, Pa.) Za'Von Watkins (Liverpool, N.Y.), Jordan Makins (Perth, Australia) and Alex Shisler (State College, Pa.) posted a time of 3:13.68 to finish 10th.
For their performances this weekend, Creese, Darrell Hill (Philadelphia, Pa.), Kidder, Makins, Shisler and Watkins were named first team All-Big Ten and Leap was named second team All-Big Ten.
Big Ten Final Standings
1) Nebraska 127
2) Illinois 86
3) Minnesota 76
4) Penn State 72
5) Michigan 67
6) Ohio State 60
7) Iowa & Indiana 49
9) Michigan State 39
10) Wisconsin 38
11) Purdue 37
12) Rutgers 2
Next up for the Penn State is the 2015 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. The NCAA meet takes place at the Randal Tyson Track Center, March 13-14. To qualify for the NCAA meet, the top-16 individuals and top-12 relays are selected.
For more on Nittany Lion track & field, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter @PennStateTFXC.