April 21, 2008

UNIVERSITY PARK, PA (UWIRE) --

Briene Simmons heard no footsteps or heavy breathing behind her in the 800-meter race.

Simmons won that race five seconds ahead of her closest competitor with a time of 2 minutes, 7.0 seconds -- nearly an eternity in the race.

The 800 was similar to how much of the weekend was controlled by Penn State women's track and field team Saturday at the Bucknell Team Challenge.

The Nittany Lions finished with 244 points, defeating host Bucknell who finished in second with 151 points.

"We really dominated this weekend and went in and out matched everyone else," coach Beth Alford-Sullivan said. "It was really a great opportunity for the athletes to go out there and better themselves."

Penn State won 12 of the 17 women's events it entered -- and it didn't compete in three events. Also by the day's end, three more athletes qualified or improved for NCAA regionals.

In the majority of the women's events, Penn State not only won the events, but continually racked up points by finishing athletes in the top 6.

"It was definitely a low-key meet," sophomore Fawn Dorr said. "We knew that the weekend would definitely be one we could excel in."

In the 100-meter dash, the long jump, and 400-meter hurdles, the first three finishers were all from Penn State.

Along with high finishes in the long jump, freshman Bianca Fung and junior Gayle Hunter improved their regional qualifying marks, Fung with a jump of 6.08 meters and Hunter with a jump of 6.28.

"We are pretty realistic and already know what we are capable of," Alford-Sullivan said. " Yet, this weekend was just another way for us to see what we are made of."

While Simmons had a dominating individual performance in the 800, Emma Schmelzer was not to be out done. Schmelzer threw a season best and a regional qualifying throw in the discus with a distance of 163 feet, 3 inches.

"We all expect nothing but great things from each other and really did that this weekend," Schmelzer said. "Everyone is really working hard to improve and it is really starting to show in our achievements."

(C) 2008 Daily Collegian via UWIRE