KNOXVILLE, Tenn., April 15, 2006 - The Penn State Nittany Lion men’s track team stepped up to the challenge today at the Sea Ray relays and came away with numerous top finishes.

Leading the Lions were seniors Alex Langan (Camp Hill, Pa.) and Matt Lincoln (Toronto, Canada), who obtained NCAA regional qualifying marks. Langan finished eighth overall in the 100 meter dash, but his time of 10.44 was good enough to secure him a bid. Lincoln’s mark came in the 1500 meter run, where he finished eighth with a time of 3:47.61.

Lincoln’s mark is notable as it came on a day with poor conditions for distance events. Sweltering heat and high winds persisted throughout the day. Regardless, some of Penn State’s best performances came in the long runs. Dan Mazzocco (Pittsburgh, Pa.) and Chris Nirschel (Pittsburgh, Pa.) finished one-two in the invitational 5000 meter run, clocking in at 14:49.58 and 14:57.29, respectively. “They won by doing exactly what I told them to do,” said head coach Harry Groves. “Run the race as slow as possible, and let the weather take over.”

Other big finishes included a first place in the 4x800 relay, run in 7:25.47 by the team of Erin Otterson (Enola, Pa.), Dan Michael (North Wales, Pa.), Mark Miller (Slatington, Pa.) and Lincoln. A second place 59.65 was run in the 4x100 meter shuttle hurdle by the team of Shawn Colligan (Bradford, Pa.), Chris Morrisey (Ligonier, Pa.), Adam Stanowick (Solon, Ohio), and Caleb Hood (Ligonier, Pa.). A third-place finish in the distance medley was taken by Tim Johnson (New Cumberland, Pa.), Kyle Pixton (Rochester, N.Y.), Dennis Pollow (Ransomville, N.Y.), and Brian Fuller (New Cumberland, Pa.), who clocked in at 10:10.98.

Morrisey and Colligan also finished fifth and seventh, respectively, in the decathlon. Morrisey amassed 6843 points, and Colligan was good for 6512.

The Lions will return to Happy Valley on April 22 to host the Nittany Lion Relays.