The Game: Penn State National — Penn State No. 6 Women’s and Men’s Indoor Track vs. Track Universities (Including Pittsburgh, Temple and Ohio State)
The Start: All Day Friday and Saturday
The Location: Ashenfelter Track, University Park
Why this game?: The National will match Penn State track against colleges around the country and give both the men’s and women’s teams a chance to improve their ranking.
National rankings are on the line for this this weekend’s Penn State National meet.
Both the men’s and women’s teams will face runners from around the country with a chance to change their position in spectrum of Division I indoor track.
“We are opening up the season full-strength,” said head coach Beth Alford-Sullivan. “The competition is very good on both sides and we are going to be given a real test to see where we are at.”
The No. 6 women’s team, ranked by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association, is facing its highest indoor ranking under coach Alford-Sullivan. The team finished No. 7 last year and now aims not only to finish higher, but also to win the Big Ten.
“As a team I think a Top 5 finish is definitely a possibility,” said senior runner Fawn Dorr. “We just have to stay injury-free and keep our minds in the game.”
The men’s team hopes to use this meet to obtain a top 25 ranking.
“Trying to improve our national ranking is something we definitely have been talked about,” said junior runner Ryan Foster. “I think we should aim to be a top 25 team by the start of February.”
This meet will be about two weeks after the team’s last meet, the PSU Northeast Challenge on Jan. 16. Alford-Sullivan believes this break has been perfect for her team’s preparation.
“We worked hard last week,” she said. “We let up a little on our athletes this week to let the kids freshen up a bit.
“We are looking for everyone to have great performances this weekend.”
Dorr and Foster were both Big Ten Track Athletes of the Week following their performance in their last meet. Dorr earned gold in 400-meter with a 53.32 time and Foster won the 1,000-meter with a school record time of 2:19.60.
“You have to find where you have to improve, because no race is perfect,” said Dorr. “That is good, because if you run a perfect race what you going to do next week.”
Dorr expects this weekend to be an important test for the women’s team.
“For our distance girls this will be their first big race,” said Dorr. “I also cannot wait to watch Shavon (Greaves) improve on her 200-meter.”
Senior runner Bridget Franek, a three-time indoor record holder and All-American, will be returning to action this week.
“This is a good meet for me to open up at because of the competition,” said Franek. “I can see where I am at now and how I can realistic help the team.”
This weekend’s competition will be the fourth of five meets at home to open up the season for the Penn State indoor track team. Dorr, who noticed a increase in fan support, has noticed the advantage of running at home.
“There is always a comfort level racing at home,” said Dorr. “Especially when the crowd starts yelling your name.”
“We are lighting it up on the track and on the field and that brings people,” added Alford-Sullivan.
