University Park, Pa. — Director and Head Coach of Nittany Lion Track and Field/Cross Country Beth Alford-Sullivan will represent the United States this summer, after being named Head Women's Coach for the Pan-American Junior Championships in Miramar, Fla., later this month. Sullivan is coming off her 12th year at the helm of the Nittany Lion women's cross country and track and field team, and her fifth year coaching both the Penn State men's and women's programs.
The appointment will be one of a growing list of international coaching positions on Sullivan's resume, including stints on the United States staff at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, and IAAF World Championships in 2001 and 2003. More recently, Sullivan coached the middle distance and distance runners at the 2010 IAAF Continental Cup in Split, Croatia, and served as the head women's coach at the NACAC Under-23 Championships in Toluca, Mexico in 2009.
The Pan-American competition features competitors from all nations in the Americas. In order to qualify for the Pan-American Junior Championships, athletes must be between the ages of 16-19 (with birthdates in 1992-1995), and not turn 20 during the 2011 calendar year.
Sullivan's Nittany Lion program recently concluded another record-breaking campaign, including second-place finishes from the women's squad at Big Ten Indoor and Outdoor Championships, and top 20 showings by the men's squad at the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships. All told, the Nittany Lions collected nine Big Ten crowns, nine Penn State records, and 16 First Team NCAA All-American finishes over the course of the 2011 indoor and outdoor seasons.
The Nittany Lions had an outstanding showing at the USATF Outdoor Championships, highlighted by stellar finishes by Casimir Loxsom (New Haven, Conn.), and Samuel Borchers (Yellow Springs, Ohio), who placed sixth and seventh, respectively, in the men's 800-meters. Collegiately, Sullivan's Nittany Lions enjoyed an impressive appearance at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, led by a third-place finish by Joe Kovacs (Nazareth, Pa.) in the shot put, and fourth-place efforts by Loxsom in the 800, and the women's 4x400-meter quartet of Doris Anyanwu (Beltsville, Md.), Shavon Greaves (Lakewood, N.J.), Ije Iheoma (Holland, Pa.), and Megan Duncan (North Huntingdon, Pa.).
Throughout Sullivan's tenure at Penn State, the Nittany Lions have earned a grand total of 125 NCAA All-America finishes, to go along with 70 Big Ten individual titles, and 14 conference-winning relays. The Nittany Lions have experienced outstanding success on the junior level internationally, including second-place finishes from both Loxsom and and Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas) at the IAAF World Junior Championships in Moncton, Canada, last summer. Also qualifying for international "junior" squads over the past several years have been Karlee McQuillen (2008 World Junior Championships - Bydgoszcz, Poland), Ryan Fritz (2006 IAAF World Championships - Beijing, China), and Shana Cox (2003 IAAF World Junior Championships - Grosseto, Italy).