Big Ten track sprints outside

Penn State played host in Happy Valley this past weekend -- the non-scored Jim Thorpe Invitational at Nittany Lion Track was open to unattached competitors and postgraduates.

In the hammer throw, Neal McNutt threw a provisional qualifying mark for the NCAA Championships, but Lion coach Harry Groves said his winning toss of 196 feet, 10 inches probably won't be enough by the end of the season.

If Joe Loner continues to build on his first-week success, the season couldn't seem long enough for him. Loner won the 400 and the 800 as well as running the anchor leg of the 4x400 relay.

Arizona State played host to one half of the Big Ten men's track and field teams this past weekend at the Castillo Invitational in Tempe, Ariz.

Indiana, Minnesota, Illinois, Ohio State and Michigan competed in the non-scored event to make the transition from the indoor to the outdoor season, and each of the Big Ten teams left with something to show for their efforts.

Ty Yaeger from Indiana took first place in the 110 meter hurdles, with Sherman Armstrong of Illinois finishing a close second. Minnesota's Tony Riter took first place in the 10,000 meters, while Kevin Sullivan from Michigan won the 800 with a solid time of 1:52.05. And it was all Big Ten in the 400 hurdles -- Ohio State's Sekou Smith finished first with a time of 52.77, Armstong finished second, Yaeger third and Michigan's Brian Theisen fourth.

Michigan coach Jack Harvey said he was pleased with the level of competition, but not the weather.

- Jack Harvey, Michigan track coach

Illinois coach Gary Wieneke said the Fighting Illini accomplished what they needed to, but he downplayed the importance of the meet.

"For a transition to outdoors it was OK," Wieneke said, "but it wasn't anything to write home about."

Dartmouth, Colorado, Idaho and Northern Arizona were among 16 teams to compete in the meet at Arizona State, which was also open to individuals.

Elsewhere in the Big Ten, Purdue hosted the Purdue Invitational on Saturday. The non-scored, all-comers-invited meet didn't showcase many fully rostered teams, but it did feature some nice weather.

"It was really warm, thank goodness, but it was windy," Purdue coach Mike Poehlein said. "We got a lot done, even though it didn't look like we got a lot done."

Iowa finished third on Saturday in the Jim Click Wildcat Shootout hosted by Arizona, which took first place at home in Tucson, Ariz. Iowa's Monte Raymond won the 400 hurdles and qualified for the NCAA Championships with his time of 50.32.

"That was probably the highlight of our day," Iowa coach Larry Wieczorek said. "It's good to see this type of success early in the season, especially after we did so well as a team last week (in Tempe)."

Ball State and Baylor also competed in the quadrangular meet.