Jan. 29, 2015
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -
By Astrid Diaz, GoPSUsports.com Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - A dynamic tradition will continue this weekend when Penn State track and field hosts the much anticipated Penn State National meet, which is set to bring in 27 teams from all over the country to one of the loudest, most energetic atmospheres to date.
The meet has a tendency of bringing out the very best in all athletes and it upholds a tradition of record-breaking, crowd-pumping racing.
"This has traditionally been a meet that has teams from all around the east coast, if not from around the country, because they know we have a fast track here and they want to put up some good marks for their National qualifying spots," said head coach John Gondak.
In last year's meet, the Penn State men broke the facility, meet, and university record in the distance medley relay with a time of 9:26.59.
Additionally, fans saw student-athletes shatter their personal records like Robert Cardina in the heptathlon, Rachel Fatherly in the weight throw, Steve Waithe and Brain Leap in the long jump, and Brannon Kidder was the only athlete from any school to run a mile in under four minutes.
By now, the 2015 Nittany Lions are on full speed, fully healthy and with eyes on the prize. This weekend hopes to be the most competitive to date.
"You're getting to the point in the season now where we've been practicing for four weeks since the break and we're getting close to championship time and everyone is going to start to be in that peak shape...that top shape where they can really put on top performances," said Gondak.
With all the excitement going on, however, the Nittany Lions look to stick with their usual plan - come and conquer.
"The indoor track atmosphere is unlike any other," said Gondak. "People come here and look to be the best they can be," said Gondak. "There's really not one specific event [that I'm most excited about]. The good thing about our team is that we're competitive in all of the event areas. There are so many great races this weekend and so many great field events. I'm excited for it all."
The meet takes place over the span of two days because of the size of the competition so fans, which will be gifted over 500 cowbells for their attendance, are in for an entire weekend of excitement.
"This meet is on the larger side so, logistically, we need to put it over two days. On Friday, we have a handful of field events. We do the sprints, the distance medley, and the 5000m [race]. Then Saturday, [we have] all the open races, said Gondak. It allows for simulating what the Conference meet is going to be like where it's a two-day competition."
The excitement kicks off Friday afternoon at 4 p.m. and on Saturday morning at 11 a.m.