Track and field to send 34 to NCAA first round

University Park, Pa. — Following the NCAA’s announcement of accepted entries, a total of 34 Nittany Lion track and field standouts will make the trip to the Bloomington, Ind., next week for the NCAA East Preliminary Round, scheduled for May 26-28 at Indiana University. The Nittany Lions will be represented by 19 athletes in 15 events on the women’s side, while the Penn State men’s contingent will have 15 athletes covering nine different disciplines. The top 12 finishers in each event will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Des Moines, Iowa, next month.

Near the top of the standings in their respective events are reigning Big Ten Champions sophomore Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.), junior Kara Millhouse (Boiling Springs, Pa.), and seniors Blake Eaton (Allegany, N.Y.) Megan Duncan (North Huntingdon, Pa.), and Karlee McQuillen (Johnstown, Pa.).

Going in as the number-one seed, McQuillen leads all East Region entrants in the women’s javelin, thanks to a season-best 169-5 (51.63). The Lions stand to make an outstanding impact in the throws overall, with Eaton and teammate Joe Kovacs (Nazareth, Pa.), entering the competition with top-five ranked marks in the shot put, and top 10 standings in the discus. Kovacs, who was the Big Ten Indoor Champion in the shot put, stands third in the event at 62-0.50 (18.91), just ahead of Eaton in fourth at 61-8.50 (18.81). Eaton leads the way for the Lions in the discus with a PR toss of 186-3 (56.78) – the fifth-best throw in the field – with Kovacs seeded eighth overall at 184-0 (56.08).

Loxsom headlines an outstanding contingent of Nittany Lions in the middle distance events, coming in with the second-fastest time in the 800-meters at 1:46.45. Senior  Sam Borchers (Yellow Springs, Ohio) will also take on the field in the half mile, standing 14th overall at 1:49.06. Senior Ryan Foster (Tasmania, Australia) will represent the Nittany Lions in the 1500-meters, looking to follow up on a third-place performance in the mile run at the NCAA Indoor Championships. Foster, who ranks 22nd in the current standings, recently finished second in the 1500 at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships.

Looking to advance in the long distances will be Millhouse, who claimed her first-career Big Ten title in the 10,000-meters last weekend. Millhouse, who ranks fifth among East Region competitors, set a school-record 33:31.93 earlier this season. Also coming in with a top-10 ranking to her credit is sophomore Natalie Bower (Pleasant Unity, Pa.). The sophomore, who competed at the First Round as a rookie a year ago, ranks 10th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at 10:18.48.

Duncan – the conference champion in the 400-meter hurdles – looks poised for her second-straight NCAA appearance in the event, as she currently stands fifth in the rankings with a PR 57.35. Teammate Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas) also stands to punch her ticket for second-career NCAA appearance, coming in sixth overall with a season-best 57.41. Britton is also one to watch in the 100-meter hurdles, entering the competition with a career-low 13.23 – the 16th-fastest effort among entrants.

Duncan is also a member of the Lions’ qualifying 4×400-meter relay squad along with teammates Doris Anyanwu (Beltsville, Md.), Shavon Greaves (Lakewood, N.J.), and Ije Iheoma (Holland, Pa.). The foursome rates seventh at 3:36.56. The same quartet placed sixth in the relay at the NCAA Indoor Championships this past winter.