Dec. 8, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.: - The Nittany Lion Track and Field squads are set to open the 2010-11 campaign this weekend, with the annual Blue-White Intrasquad Meet on Saturday, Dec. 11. Last year, the Penn State program engineered outstanding indoor and outdoor efforts, highlighted by Top 25 standings from both the men's and women's squads at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships, including a fourth-place "Trophy Team" finish by the women's squad outdoors. All told, the Nittany Lions collected 22 NCAA All-America finishes, 12 individual Big Ten titles, three relay conference wins, and seven Penn State records in 2010, and are poised for even more successes in 2011.
This release is the fourth in a series of interviews with each event coach recapping their group's fall training, and preview the upcoming indoor and outdoor seasons.
Penn State Horizontal Jumps, Women's High Jump and Multi-Events
With two-time NCAA qualifier Bianca Fung (North Babylon, N.Y.) leading the way, Penn State once again looks to be a force in the horizontal jumps on both the conference and national levels. Along with 2010 Big Ten scorers in the triple jump Dan Sandrowicz (Indiana, Pa.) and Hanif Johnson (Harrisburg, Pa.), assistant coach Fritz Spence's event group looks to be primed for big things in 2011, after a full fall of training and conditioning.
Fung - a senior - has enjoyed outstanding success over her sophomore and junior campaigns, qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in both 2009 and 2010. Fung would finish 21st as a sophomore, and 23rd as a senior. Fung has also been a mainstay in the Big Ten standings in the event, scoring top-eight finishes at the conference meet on four occasions. Fung's personal-indoor best of 20-3.50 (6.18) ranks third in the Penn State record books. Junior triple jump specialist Tanaya Lloyd (Philadelphia, Pa.) has also provided a spark on the women's side over the past several seasons, including sixth-place finishes in the triple jump at both the indoor and outdoor conference meets a year ago. Lloyd owns PRs of 40-1.25 (12.22), indoors, to go along with a personal-outdoor best of 40-10.50 (12.46), which qualified her for a spot at the NCAA First Round in 2010.
Back on the men's side of redshirt sophomores Johnson and Sandrowicz, who posted second- and sixth-place efforts, respectively, in the triple jump at the Big Ten Indoor Championships last year. Johnson, who placed fourth at the outdoor conference meet as a freshman in 2009, owns an impressive PR of 50-10.75 (15.51), while Sandrowicz jumped a personal-best 49-3.50 (15.02) in 2010.
Freshman Marlene Ricketts (Westbury, N.Y.) headlines an outstanding contingent of newcomers on the women's side, coming into the mix with a personal-best of 42-4 (12.90) in the triple jump - the third-best mark among preps in 2010. Also joining the horizontal jumps roster will be freshman Brittney Howell (Wyncote, Pa.), who owns a long jump PR of 19-1.50 (5.82). Howell will also try her hand at the multi-events in 2011, along with freshmen Kaitchen Dearborn (New Milford, Pa.), and Olivia Mangan (Huntington Valley, Pa.), and sophomore Kelsey Couts (Powell, Ohio), who placed eighth in the Big Ten pentathlon as a freshman.
Spence also oversees the women's high jump, with sophomore Erika Morgan (Chesapeake, Va.) and Fung back in 2011, along with newcomer Brooke Owen (Weston, Fla.). Morgan cleared 5-7 (1.70) indoors last year, while Fung owns an outdoor PR of 5-7.25 (1.71).
The Blue-White Meet is scheduled for Saturday, December 11, beginning at 2 p.m. The Nittany Lions are also set to host a USATF Officials' Clinic in conjunction with the event. To sign up, or for more information on the clinic, contact Director of Track and Field Operations Jess Riden at jnr126@psu.edu.