Early Action at the Carnival

Our unofficial correspondent Steve Shisler sends us an update from Friday's action at the world's greatest Relay Carnival:

Here is an update from my unofficial duties from Penn.

It was a beautiful sunny day at Franklin Field.  State High's boys 4x100 team of Dan Taylor, Jeremy Gilpin, Alex Shisler and Alex Kenney ran 44.58 for a fourth place finish in their Large School heat despite some less than ideal handoff's.

The Penn State women's 4x200 of Shavon Greaves, Caitlin DeFusco, Fawn Dorr, Aleesha Barber won their trial heat and qualified for the ECAC final Saturday missing the Championship of America final by 1/100th of a second. (Fawn Dorr ran amazing legs of both the 4 X 200 and the 4 X 400!)

Penn State had a strong showing in the Men's Distance Medley with a team of Samuel Borchers (2:56.96), Lionel Williams (46.74), Sam Havko (1:52.02), Vince McNally (4:07.76).  Borchers ran a very competitive leadoff 1200 leg to handoff in 2nd.  Williams flew through his 400 leg keeping PSU in second behind the Oregon Ducks.  Oregon broke away from the field on the 3rd leg and by the time Olympian Andrew Wheating got the stick for the Ducks on the anchor, no one had a chance. (Sam Borchers and Lionel Williams both ran great legs in the DMR)

It's off for another day at the races and there seems to be a lot of buzz in the air about the men's 4x800 and Penn State's chances to bring home another title in that event. (Official group representative Harry Smith relates Coach has received thousands of birthday greeting and is psyched for the upcoming golf outing.)

Signed,

The Un-Official Correspondent

Thankfully I'll be able to watch the 4 X 800 on Flo Track.  I may even run on the treadmill during the event for a little extra push, possibly even breaking 9:00 for a mile!  (I wish I was kidding.)