Trackmen look for continued success at Kane Invitational

The Penn State men's indoor track team will try to build on its recent success when it travels to Ithica tomorrow to compete in the Kane Invitational.

The Nittany Lions will battle a mix of Canadian and Northeastern schools at the Invitational. Penn State coach Harry Groves said the meet gives the Lions a good chance to improve their performances before traveling to Big Ten championships next week.

The Lions are coming off their most impressive performance of the season at the President's Invitational in Happy Valley. The Lions obliterated the opposition, taking first in 12 of the 17 events.

Jamie Cook highlighted Penn State's dominance, easily capturing the pentathlon with a career-best 3,916 points. Cook's effort qualified him for the U.S. Nationals later this year.

"I really couldn't be happier with the performance," Cook said. "There wasn't a whole lot of pressure on me, so I just went out and had some fun and tried to do my best."

Cook said he thinks the competition the Lions face in Ithica will help make them a stronger team.

"There's good people in every event, so we will all be challenged and that's good because it will help toughen us up for Big Tens," Cook said.

Other Lions who had strong performances at the President's Invitational were Mike Hartman and Damon Reed. Hartman won the pole vault with a career-best leap of 15 feet, 9 inches, while Reed was a double winner, taking both the 55-meter and 200-meter dashes.

Penn State also made a strong showing last weekend at the prestigious Milrose Games in New York. Che Arosemena and Neal McNutt finished sixth in the mile and 35-pound weight throw, respectively, while the 4x800 team of Joe Hubbard, Ben Horwath, Andy Oxendine and Joe Loner took first in the collegiate relay.

McNutt became a provisional qualifier for the NCAAs with his throw of 62 feet, 3 inches. He said he was happy to be a provisional qualifier for NCAAs but added he hopes to throw better in Ithica.

"It felt great. I was really relieved," McNutt said. "I just hope I can bring myself to that level this weekend. I think I have a lot of competition this weekend. Hopefully, that will accelerate or boost my performance."