The Penn State women's track and field team proved themselves against world-class competition this weekend at the rain-shortened Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville, Tenn.
Before thunderstorms caused the last part of the meet to be canceled, three Penn State athletes placed first in their respective events, with Shana Cox winning the 400-meter dash, Heidi Nadeau winning the javelin and Aleesha Barber taking the 400 meter hurdles. Thrower Christen Clemson was the top collegiate finisher in the discus, finishing second overall.
Especially impressive was Cox's victory, as she beat out former gold medallist DeeDee Trotter. At the 2004 Olympics in Athens, Trotter finished fifth in the 400 meters and was part of the 4 x 400 meter relay team that won gold.
Cox's time of 51.81 seconds is the second fastest time run in the NCAA this year and is an encouraging sign after a disappointing end to the indoor season that saw her finish second in the 400 at the Big Tens and seventh at Nationals.
"I think sometimes when you come up short after an indoor season you can turn it around and really put your mind to it for the outdoor," Alford-Sullivan said. "And that seems to be what Shana has decided to do."
Barber, Nadeau and Clemson's performances were especially encouraging to Penn State's hopes to improve upon its fourth place finish at the Big Ten indoor championships. The 400-meter hurdles, javelin and discus are all events not featured in the indoor season, and the fact that the team has contenders in those events could mean a higher finish at the outdoor championships.
"It shows that we're definitely a strong team for the outdoor season," Alford-Sullivan said. "We've got to be on and be exceptional during the weekend of the Big Tens. In these weeks leading up to it, we seem to be showing that we have that potential."
Penn State also continued to add regional qualifiers this weekend, as Bridget Franek, Caitlin Fairbairn and Lena Bettis all hit the regional qualifiers for the first time this year. Fairbairn recorded a personal best in the pole vault, and Franek's time of 4 minutes, 21.16 seconds in the 1,500 meters was the sixth best in Penn State history.
Several events featuring Penn State athletes were cancelled because of the rain, preventing the team from adding more regional qualifiers. Head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said Shana Cox in the 200 meters, Toya Woods in the shotput and Bridget Franek and Cheryl Spring in the steeplechase were all athletes close to qualifying who missed a chance to compete because of the rain.
Penn State had originally been scheduled to host the Jim Thorpe Invitational next weekend but that meet has been cancelled due to a lack of entrants. The team will instead travel to compete at the Bucknell Seven-Way meet.
