March 4, 2010
ND Alex Wilson Invitational | Virginia Tech Final Qualifier
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.: March 4, 2010 - With the NCAA Indoor Championships just over a week away, several Nittany Lion athletes will compete this weekend in hopes of bettering their NCAA qualifying performances at the Alex Wilson Invitational at Notre Dame, and the Virginia Tech Final Qualifier. This weekend will serve as the last opportunity for athletes around the country to punch their ticket to the NCAA Championships in Fayetteville, Ark., on March 12-13. The NCAA accepts a minimum of 14 athletes per individual event at the national championships, and a total of 284 athletes per gender across 15 individual events and two relays.
The Nittany Lions will travel a small contingent of distance runners to South Bend, including senior Cheryl Spring (The Woodlands, Texas), junior Lionel Williams (Staten Island, N.Y.) and sophomores Kyle Dawson (Coatesville, Pa.), Vince McNally (Smoketown, Pa.) and Caitlin Lane (Greenwich, N.Y.).
Spring, who has NCAA performances on the boards individually in the 3,000- and 5,000-meters, will race in the 5K this weekend, coming into the competition with a personal-best 16:22.30 in the event. Spring's career best is currently ranked 24th nationally. Also competing in the 5,000 is Dawson, who owns a season-best 14:07.56, and rates 41st in Division I. McNally will race the 3,000 with an entry time of 8:10.99 - just off the NCAA provisional standard of 8:05.00.
Lane, who is coming off a scoring performance in the 800-meters at the Big Ten Indoor Championships, will also try her chances at bettering her personal best, competing in the mile run, where she boasts a PR of 4:42.88. Lane currently stands 24th among NCAA competitors. Williams will represent the Nittany Lions in the middle distances, entering the 800-meters with a season-best and provisional-qualifying mark of 1:50.15.
Penn State will send their field athletes to Virginia Tech, led by senior Brittany Maun (Greenville, Pa.), juniors Blake Eaton (Allegeny, N.Y.) and Caitlin Fairbairn (Coatesville, Pa.), sophomore Jocelyn Witmer (Lancaster, Pa.), and redshirt-freshman Hanif Johnson (Harrisburg, Pa.).
Following a bronze-medal effort at the conference meet, Maun will get one last chance in the high jump with her current PR or 5-11.25 (1.81) standing 19th among NCAA competitors. Fairbairn and Witmer posted identical personal best clearances of 12-11.50 (3.95) in the pole vault at the Big Ten Championships, coming within two inches of NCAA provisional status.
Eaton currently rates 14th in the NCAA in the shot put, boasting a personal-best 60-10.50 (18.55), and will compete in the event again this weekend, while Johnson has been on the upswing in the triple jump, posting a season-best 50-0.75 (15.26) to take silver-medal honors at the Big Ten Championships.
Final accepted entries into the NCAA Championships will be posted on Monday, March 8, at NCAA.com.