How Did The Men Do At The NCAA Championships?

 "It was a fun race."

-Isaiah Harris, runner-up in the 800M.

(And let's not forget this previous tweet from Isaiah!)

"Light yourself on fire and then roll in broken glass to put out the fire!" -from Isaiah Harris's Twitter Feed, explaining how to replicate the feeling after an 800M race.

The big answer is, tied for 20th in the team standings.  For the third straight year in the top 20!  Congrats to the coaches and all the athletes (and not just the ones who scored!).  Coach Gondak related his happiness and the hunger for more!

Coach Gondak and Isaiah Harris.

Isaiah Harris closed out the NCAA Championships with a very smart race, finishing second to the heavy favorite, UTEP's Emmanuel Korir.*  Isaiah stayed back early and ran relatively even splits (52.32 and 53.09).  That kept him out of trouble when the 2 UTEP runners tangled and Michael Saruni went down with 200M to go.  Many thought Korir could have been disqualified for the trip, but judges eventually ruled it out.

Isaiah Harris represents the 7th All-American performance in the 800M since 2009 and ties both Brannon Kidder and Casimir Loxsom with the highest finish in the event at the Championship level.

All the participants in the NCAA Championships: 

• Javelin - Michael Shuey   3rd   250' 9"
• Javelin - Ryan Kerr       9th     232' 0"
• Javelin - Michael Biddle   18th   219' 8"
• Long Jump -  Malik Moffett       18th   24' 1/4"
• Shot Put - Jon Yohman    11th      62'   1/2"
• 4 x 100M - Karson Kowalchuk, Dan Chisena, Xavier Smith, Malik Moffett  13th  39.15
• 4 x 400M - Dan Chisena, Xavier Smith, Tyreek Mathis, Isaiah Harris  9th   3:04.17
• 800M - Isaiah Harris   2nd    1:45.40
• 800M - Domenic Perretta   21st   1:49.14
• 200M - Malik Moffett   22nd   20.93
• Discus - David Lucas    9th  190' 3"
• Triple Jump - Bryce Williams  17th  51' 1 3/4" 

* Even better, Isaiah wore his "Alumni-like Singlet" in the Final.

Javelin Nation!

Michael Shuey made his extra year of eligibility count as he performed better than ever before at the NCAA Championships in Eugene yesterday.  This follows a return from major injury and a disappointing first Senior Season!

Not one, but 2 other Nittany Lions also performed well on the big stage at Hayward Field.  Michael Biddle placed 18th with a toss of 218' 8".  Ryan Kerr just missed All-American honors with a 9th place finish with 232' 0".

Ryan Kerr and Michael Shuey.

But Michael Shuey made his first throw in the extra 3 given to the top 9 count with a PR and new School Record of 250' 9"!  Congrats Michael.

1		Ioannis KYRIAZIS	JR	Texas A&M	82.58m (270-11 )
2		Nicolas QUIJERA	JR	Miss State	76.77m (251-10 )
3		Michael SHUEY	SR	Penn State	76.42m (250-9 )
4		Alex PASCAL	JR	Missouri	75.38m (247-4 )
5		Matti MORTIMORE	JR	N. Dakota St.	74.33m (243-10 )
6		Sindri GUDMUNDSSON	FR	Utah State	73.28m (240-5 )
7		Curtis THOMPSON	JR	Miss State	72.47m (237-9 )
8		Chris MIRABELLI	JR	Rutgers	71.68m (235-2 )
9		Ryan KERR	SR	Penn State	70.71m (232-0 )
10		McLean LIPSCHUTZ	SR	Alabama	69.41m (227-8 )
11		Sam HARDIN	JR	Texas A&M	69.34m (227-6 )
12		Cody DANIELSON	SR	Oregon	69.31m (227-4 )
13		Michael CRITICOS	JR	Memphis	69.18m (227-0 )
14		Adrian MITCHELL	FR	Albany	68.54m (224-10 )
15		Matthew KUSKEY	SR	UC Santa Barbara	68.25m (223-11 )
16		Simon LITZELL	FR	UCLA	67.62m (221-10 )
17		Werner BOUWER	FR	Texas Tech	67.60m (221-9 )
18		Michael BIDDLE	FR	Penn State	66.95m (219-8 )

PSU is Javelin U

Let's not forget about the field events at Penn Relays.  There were many fine performances, including the only watch win by Danielle Gibson in the Triple Jump.  But the event that stands out in my mind was the 2-3-4 finish by Penn State Men in the Javelin.  Which included a school record for Michael Shuey!

1		Chris Mirabelli	Rutgers	76.67m (251-6)
2		Michael Shuey	Penn State	76.25m (250-1)
3		Michael Biddle	Penn State	70.82m (232-4)
4		Ryan Kerr	Penn State	69.22m (227-1)

Ebel Is Able And His Throwers Are Too!

Coach Ebel has every right to be strutting and crowing, but he has just nonchalantly directed all congratulations to his throwers.  And his throwers won or excelled in just about every event they could at Penn Relays, both College Division and Championship Division!

Women's Discus:   Obeng Marfo   2nd   161' 2"
Men's Shot Put:  Jon Yohman   1st    60' 10.5"
Men's Discus:   David Lucas   1st   180' 6"
Women's Javelin:  Sarah Stanley   1st   147' 3"
Men's Javelin:   Ryan Kerr     1st    228' 8"
Women's Shot Put:  Alyssa Robinson   3rd  52' 5.5"
Women's Hammer Throw:  Rachel Fatherly   6th   178' 10"
Women's Javelin:  Lauren Kenney   6th  144' 5"
Men's Hammer Throw:  Morgan Shigo   1st  206' 0"

Coach Ebel and John Lucas.