Feb. 28, 2016
GENEVA, Ohio - Penn State track & field wrapped up weekend action at the Big Ten Championships with the women's team claiming third-place with 96.5 points, followed by a sixth-place finish by the men who completed the two day meet with 60 total points.
Julie Kocjancic started things on the track for the Nittany Lions in the final of the women's mile finishing eighth in a time of 4:49.39. Following Kocjancic on the track were Brannon Kidder and Colin Abert in the final of the men's mile.
Kidder led from beginning to end as he walked away from the field over the final 200-meters, finishing with a time of 4:07.89 for the win while teammate Colin Abert rounded out the scoring for Penn State in the event running 4:10.95.
Xavier Smith entered the finals of the 60-meters sporting the fastest time of the season in the event in the Big Ten with his time of 6.68 set earlier in the season. Smith took fifth-place in the event in a time of 6.78 seconds less than a tenth of a second behind Iowa's Vinnie Saucer who won in 6.70.
The women's 800-meters featured an all-time personal best performance from Sarah Jane Underwood as she clocked 2:07.43 to claim fourth-place and add to the team total for the women netting five points from her performance.
Following in Underwood's footsteps, Isaiah Harris and Jordan Makins each set personal best of their own in the men's 800-meters final.
Harris, a true freshman, entered the event having clocked the fastest time in prelims at 1:48.93. The duo of Makins and Harris combined to collect 15 points in the event as Makins finished fourth in a personal best time of 1:48.96 while teammate Isaiah Harris clocked a blazing 1:46.24 to set a new All-time Big Ten indoor record, Big Ten Championships record, facility record, Penn State school record, and a personal best time in the process. Harris is currently ranked as the No. 4 800-meter athlete in the nation.
In the 60-meter hurdles, Quenee Dale continued the trend for the women's team by adding four points with her performance in the event clocking 8.33 seconds.
Robert Rhodes scored in the men's 600-meters as he ran 1:18.56 finishing in eighth-place.
Returning to the track in the men's 200-meters was Xavier Smith, this time bringing along teammate Malik Moffett. Both Smith and Moffett entered the event with a season best time of 21.02. Moffett would use a strong surge towards the finish line to secure his third-place finish clocking 21.03, just one one-hundredth of a second off his personal best time while Smith took fourth-place in 21.15.
Just as they had in the women's 3K the night before, Tori Gerlach and Tessa Barrett teamed up in the women's to rack up 14 points as Gerlach ran her way to a second-place finish with her time of 15:50.49 followed closely by Tessa Barrett's third-place time of 15:51.56. Gerlach's time of 15:50.49 set a personal best for the senior distance specialist.
Rachel Fatherly and Alyssa Robinson returned to the field, this time in the women's weight throw. Fatherly took fourth-place at 20.56m (67'-5.0") while Robinson recorded a personal best throw of 19.15m (62'-10") claiming ninth-place.
The women's triple jump saw a Penn State athlete set a personal best mark as well in Kaitlyn Lopez as she finished competition in sixth-place with her mark of 12.50m (41'-0"). Dannielle Gibson took second with her mark of 13.10m (42'-11.75"). Penn State added 11 points with Gibson and Lopez's performances.
Freshman Chisom Ifedi finished the day in seventh-place in the men's high jump bowing out of the competition with a best clearance of 2.07m (6'-9.5").
As is tradition in track and field, the day would conclude with the running of the men's and women's mile relays.
The quartet of Shisler, Reiser, Smith, and Harris combined to record a time of 3:09.59 taking sixth-place and ending their two-day total at 60 points as they finished in sixth-place.
The women's team wrapped up day two with 96.5 points claiming third-place as a team.
Accepted entries for the 2016 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships will be revealed later in the week as a select few athletes will compete in the national championships March 11-12 in Birmingham, Ala.
First-Team Big Ten Honors:
Isaiah Harris, Penn State
Brannon Kidder, Penn State
Jordan Makins, Penn State
Alex Shisler, Penn State
Second-Team Big Ten Honors:
Rachel Fatherly, Penn State
Tori Gerlach, Penn State
Danielle Gibson, Penn State
Lexi Masterson, Penn State