NCAA Indoor Nationals scheduled for the following weekend in Indianapolis.

By MIKE MITSTIFER
Collegian Staff Writer

One of the Big Ten's middle-of-the-pack women's indoor track teams surprised the perennial powers this weekend at Ohio State and very nearly walked away with the Big Ten title.

It wasn't Penn State.

Purdue held the meet's lead after the first day of competition before eventually relinquishing it to defending champion Michigan, who took the title with 116 points. The Boilermakers (109 points) still posted their best finish in 11 years, holding on to second place.

The Lady Lions (59.17) wound up eighth out of nine teams, a seemingly unenviable position. To the contrary, the team was still relatively satisfied with its performance, even if it wasn't satisfied with the final position it held in the standings.

"It wasn't the place we wanted, but it was the effort we wanted," said Penn State coach Teri Jordan. "There were a lot of season bests and personal bests out there, so we can't really be disappointed with the performance."

Jordan pointed at newer events like the pole vault, pentathlon and 20-pound weight throw as the reason Penn State stumbled while teams like Purdue and third-place finisher Indiana (93.5) climbed in the standings.

"As a team we're still learning those events," said Jordan.

Purdue claimed eight top-five finishes in those three events alone, one more than Penn State recorded the entire meet. That kind of event dominance is a huge boost in the standings for teams that are average in other areas.

Penn State was also at a disadvantage without standout performers Laila Brock and Erin Davis. Brock, a junior, has missed the entire season with a knee injury but is expected back for the outdoor season. Davis missed the meet after suffering from flu-like symptoms but was back at practice yesterday.

Shakeema Walker again led the way for Penn State with a pair of second-place finishes and NCAA provisional qualifying marks in the triple jump and long jump. Having already qualified in an earlier meet in the long jump, Walker recorded an NCAA-worthy triple jump of 42-5¼ feet.

Freshman Deshaya Williams also qualified provisionally for NCAA Indoor Nationals as a result of her 48-11½ throw in the shot put, good enough for fifth place overall.

Felicia Cooksey joined Walker with a pair of top-five finishes. Neither of Cooksey's marks was good enough to qualify for NCAAs, but her performances in the high jump and pentathlon were both fourth-place finishes.

The successful Penn State distance medley team recorded a third-place finish, crossing the line in 11 minutes, 50.83 seconds.

Once again, Toyin Augustus narrowly missed qualifying for nationals after she posted an 8.40 time in the 60-meter low hurdles.

"(Augustus) is strong enough and a good enough athlete to make it to nationals right now," said Walker.

Like Augustus, those Lions who are eligible to continue their seasons now prepare for Eastern College Athletic Conference Championships this weekend in Boston, Mass. The meet represents the last opportunity for athletes to qualify for NCAA Indoor Nationals scheduled for the following weekend in Indianapolis.

• Trackmen dead last at Big Tens