BLACKSBURG, Va. – The Penn State track & field team competed well in the Hokie Invitational at Virginia Tech, recording two top-five marks in school history over the course of the two-day meet.
"We were very excited to head down to Virginia Tech this weekend," head coach John Gondak said. "It's been about 15 years since the program has been to Blacksburg and we appreciate their hospitality. While we started out a little flat on Friday, we really started to turn out some great performances as we moved through the day. On Saturday, we had some top-five program performances and many performances that are ranked in the top-eight in the Big Ten. It's always good to get on the road for the first time and be together as a team. We look forward to coming back to Happy Valley for our biggest home meet of the year next weekend."
Penn State's fantastic performance at the Hokie Inviational sets the squad up nicely for the Penn State National Open next weekend. With multiple performances ranking inside the top-ten in the Big Ten, and others continuing to build on past success, the Nittany Lions are improving at just the right time to make a splash when they return home next week.
NITTANY LIONS IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Penn State saw two marks crack the top-five in school history at Virginia Tech. Hailey Zurich tied her own PR with the second-best pole vault clearance in program history with a 13-10.5(4.23m) effort. On the oval, Rachel Gearing recorded the third best 600m time in school history with a 1:29.49.
Last week at the Nittany Lion Challenge, Cecelia Bacon posted a 1.83m/6-0 effort in the high jump to tie Alexa Parks (2020) for the indoor record at Penn State.
Additionally, two international records fell at the Nittany Lion Challenge, both in the men's 1,000m run. Yukichi Ishii set a new Japanese national indoor record with a 2:21.99, followed by Handal Roban's St. Vincent & the Grenadines national indoor record-breaking 2:24.08.
FRIDAY EVENT SUMMARY
The Nittany Lions began competition Friday morning with Chloe Royce and Maddie Pitts in the pentathlon. Royce finished fifth overall with a 3,860 in the event. Pitts, a true freshman, set a personal best with a 3,622 total, including a second-place finish in the 800m with a PR of 2:19.82.
In the women's pole vault, Hailey Zurich tied her own personal best mark with the second-highest clearance in school history; a 13-10.5(4.23m) effort. Zurich hit the mark once before in 2022.
Continuing in the field events, Tyler Merkley posted his second weight throw event victory of the season, recording a 21.90m(72-10.25) throw to win the event. Sophomore Collin Burkhart finished fourth with a 19.58m(64-3) throw of his own.
For the second week in a row, the Nittany Lions set three PRs in the 1,000m run. For the women, Maddie Ullom recorded a 2:48.15 to earn a new personal best. On the men's side, Jonah Powell (2:25.99) and Tanner Piotrowski (2:26.79) both increased their personal bests in the event.
More Nittany Lion history was made in the women's 600m as Rachel Gearing posted the third-best time in school history with a 1:29.49 in the event. Mid-year newcomer Hayley Kitching followed closely behind gearing and posted a 1:30.22 in her first collegiate competition. Victoria Vanriele ran a 1:31.53 and Isabella Culver recorded a 1:34.62 PR to cap off the event for Penn State.
In the men's 600m, Darius Smallwood won the event with a 1:18.28 personal best for the Nittany Lions' second event win of the day.
Wrapping up the night, Jean Starr set a season-best 16.49m(54-1.25) in the women's weight throw and freshman Meredith Baham secured a third-place finish in the women's pole vault (unseeded) with a 12-6.75(3.83m) clearance.
SATURDAY EVENT SUMMARY
Cecelia Bacon got things rolling for the Nittany Lions on Saturday with her second-consecutive win in the high jump. Bacon cleared 1.80m for the second week in a row as well, finishing with a 5-11.25(1.81m) clearance.
In the triple jump, Penn State's Tesia Thomas (41-4.5(12.61m)) and freshman Shannon Mullin (39-8.5(12.1m) both set personal bests in the event, finishing fourth and seventh, respectively. Thomas' leap currently ranks fourth in the Big Ten.
The Nittany Lions then posted two top-five finishes in the shot put, as Duane Knisely claimed second with a 56-2.75(17.14m) throw and Dylan Lambrecht set a new personal best with a 53-5(16.28m) effort.
In the 400m run, the women saw two finishers crack 55 seconds, set personal bests, and finish top-three in the event. Zoey Goldstein (54.77) and Jermecia Brown (54.92) crossed the finish line 2-3 in a fantastic outing. On the men's side, James Onwuka ran a season-best 47.49 to place fourth.
In his 800m debut, freshman Luke Seymour ran a 1:51.66 to claim second overall in the event. The time currently comes in second in the Big Ten Conference.
Mallory Kauffman continued her winning ways in the shot put, posting a 54-11.5(16.75m) throw to take home the title for the third consecutive meet to start the 2022-23 season.
In the men's pole vault, program record holder Luke Knipe finished with a clearance just three inches shy of his own school record to finish second in the event. His 17-5(5.31m) mark stands third in the Big Ten.
The Nittany Lions 4x400 relay teams each posted a top-three finish, with the men's team claiming second with a 3:13.89 mark while the women took third, running a 3:44.82 to cap off the weekend.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions will host the Penn State National Open from Jan. 27-28 in the Multisport Facility and the Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track.
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