Smith, Shigo lead Penn State to Big Ten title
Daniel Boone, Fleetwood grads shine at league championships
Xavier Smith and Morgan Shigo helped Penn State men’s track team capture its first-ever Big Ten Conference Outdoor Championship on May 15 in University Park. And both have been rewarded by earning a trip to the NCAA Division I East Preliminary Round starting Thursday in Lexington, Ky.
Junior Smith, a Daniel Boone grad, finished second in the 100 (wind-aided 10.10) and 200 meter (windaided 29.23) dashes and ran a leg on the second-place finishing 4x4 with a time of 3:05.22.
Sophomore Shigo, a Fleetwood Area grad, finished second in the hammer throw with a personal record heave of 222 feet, 11 inches.
Smith will compete in the 100 at the prelims. He’s seeded 35th with a time of 10.35. He’ll also compete in the 4x1 (39.48) and 4x4 (3:05.22) relays, both ranked 17th. This will be the first time that Smith has run the 100 in the prelims. His 4x4 relay finished 10th indoors last winter and his 4x1 relay finished 17th outdoors last spring.
Shigo’s effort at the Big Ten meet places him 14th on the hammer throw list. He finished 28th as a freshman but earned All-American honors by finishing eighth in the weight throw last winter.
PHOTO COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS
The top 24 finishers in each event will advance to the NCAA Outdoor Championships June 7-10 in Eugene, Ore.
The Lehigh senior has qualified in two events for the NCAA East Preliminary Round starting Thursday in Lexington, Ky. He’s seeded 11th in the shot put with a school record heave of 62 feet, 3 ¼ inches recorded when he captured the Patriot League title May 5-6 in Bethlehem. He’s also seeded 28th in the discus with a 179 foot, 1 inch effort that was recorded when he finished third at the league meet. This will be Warning’s second trip to the East Prelims. He finished 25th in the shot put last year just missing a berth in the Nationals. WARNING The junior first-baseman hit .259 (30-for-116) with two doubles, a triple, 17 runs batted in and 19 runs scored for the Penn State-Berks softball team which posted a 29-9 overall record, finished 19-1 in North Eastern Athletic Conference regular season play, posted a 3-0 record to win the league tourney title and posted a 1-2 mark in the NCAA Division III Tournament. Freshman right fielder Heather Rissell hit. 253 (24-for-95) with nine doubles, two triples, a home run, 19 runs scored and 19 runs batted in. The Shippensburg junior will be making her first appearance in the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track Championships starting Thursday in Bradenton, Fla. Hepner will be competing in the pole vault on Saturday. She’s seeded 15th with a 12 foot, 9 ½ inch effort she recorded finishing first at the Raiders’ Paul Kaiser Classic April 29 in Shippensburg. She’s coming off a 10th place finish in the PSAC Championships May 4-6 on Bloomsburg when she cleared 11 feet, 2 ¼ inches.
The senior thrower was named Most Valuable Field Athlete in women’s track when Lock Haven coach Aaron Russell announced the annual awards on May 8. Puglia captured the weight throw (56 feet, 3 ¼ inches) at the PSAC Indoor Track Championships on Feb. 25-26 in Edinboro. She finished 12th in the hammer throw at the Outdoor Championships on May 4-6 on Bloomsburg with a season-best toss of 143 feet, 11 inches.