UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State track & field team will travel to the SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio to compete in the Big Ten Indoor Championships this weekend. The two-day meet will take place from Friday, Feb. 24 to Saturday, Feb. 25.
The Nittany Lions enter competition with 31 top-eight marks in the Big Ten and are currently ranked sixth in the conference in the USTFCCCA TFRI on both the men's and women's side.
For the men, Iowa, Nebraska, and Wisconsin currently slot in as the top three squads in the conference, while Michigan, Wisconsin, and Ohio State claim those spots on the women's side.
The Nittany Lions continued to hold steady with two top-five #EventSquad marks in the most recent USTFCCCA rankings. Penn State's men's 800-meter squad of Handal Roban, Darius Smallwood, Carter Fitzgerald, and Olivier Desmeules slot in as the second-best 800m group in the country, trailing only Iowa State. Roban leads the pack, slotting in at 12th in the country with a 1:47.01.
Penn State's women's high jump group of Cecelia Bacon, Carlie Wilson, Gwen Cudmore, and Chloe Royce currently rank as the fifth-best high jump squad in the nation. Bacon cleared the bar at 6-0 (1.83m) earlier this season to tie the Penn State program record. The mark is currently tied for 20th in all of Division I.
LIVE COVERAGE
Live Results
Friday Live Stream: Track Events | Field Events
Saturday Live Stream: Track Events | Field Events
B1G RANKINGS
Heading into this weekend's meet, the Nittany Lions vie for a top spot in the Big Ten with 63 top-20 marks across both the men's and the women's squads.
Men's Events
60m
- T-18 - Kristian Phennicie (6.84)
400m
- 11 – James Onwuka (47.48)
- 13 – Korbin Martino (47.50)
600m
- 1 – Callum Dodds (1:16.46)
- 2 – Handal Roban (1:16.91)
- 3 – Darius Smallwood (1:16.99)
- 5 – Carter Fitzgerald (1:17.31)
800m
- 1 – Roban (1:47.01)
- 3 – Smallwood (1:47.90)
- 4 – Olivier Desmeules (1:47.97)
- T-5 – Fitzgerald (1:48.29)
- T-5 – Luke Seymour (1:48.29)
- 7 – Yukichi Ishii (1:48.35)
Mile
- 6 – Brandon Hontz (3:59.13)
- 10 – Drew Maher (4:02.38)
- 19 – Jonah Powell (4:06.28)
3,000m
- 10 – Hontz (8:05.38)
5,000m
- 18 – Hayden Healey (14:30.61)
- 20 – Behailu Bekele-Arcuri (14:35.26)
4x400m
- 5 – Onwuka, Martino, Dodds, Roban (3:10.85)
Distance Medley Relay
- 4 – Ishii, Onwuka, Desmeules, Hontz (9:35.51)
High Jump
- 8 – Isaac Osifo (6-10.25 (2.09m))
- T-19 – Joey Walker (6-7 (2.01m))
Pole Vault
- 3 – Luke Knipe (17-5 (5.31m))
- 15 – Jonathan Petersen (15-11.25 (4.86m))
Triple Jump
- 10 – Lance Hamilton (50-2.5 (15.3m))
- 16 – Joe Cardina (46-11.75 (14.32m))
Shot Put
- 18 – Duane Knisely (57-5.5 (17.51m))
- 20 – Lucciano Pizarro (56-11.25 (17.35m))
Weight Throw
- 5 – Tyler Merkley (71-11 (21.92m))
- 11 – Collin Burkhart (65-10.25 (20.07m))
Women's Events
200m
- 18 – Jermecia Brown (24.20)
400m
- 15 – Zoey Goldstein (54.69)
- 17 – Jermecia Brown (54.92)
600m
- T-5 – Rachel Gearing (1:29.49)
- 8 – Hayley Kitching (1:30.22)
- 12 – Victoria Vanriele (1:30.61)
800m
- 3 – Kitching (2:03.90)
- 5 – Gearing (2:04.60)
- 10 – Madaline Ullom (2:07.47)
Mile
- 4 – Kileigh Kane (4:38.40)
- 16 – Makenna Krebs (4:45.05)
3,000m
- 2 – Faith DeMars (9:00.94)
- 16 – Kane (9:28.97)
- 19 – Krebs (9:30.55)
5,000m
- 6 – Sophia Toti (16:31.67)
- 17 – Libby Benzer (16:56.97)
4x400m
- 7 – Brown, Vanriele, Goldstein, Jane Madson (3:44.81)
Distance Medley Relay
- 3 – Kitching, Goldstein, Gearing, Kane (11:02.23)
High Jump
- T-4 – Cecelia Bacon (6-0 (1.83m))
- 8 – Carlie Wilson (5-8.75 (1.75m))
- T-13 – Chloe Royce (5-7 (1.7m))
- T-13 – Gwendolyn Cudmore (5-7 (1.7m))
- T-17 – Kate Willshaw (5-6.5 (1.69m))
Pole Vault
- 2 – Hailey Zurich (13-10.5 (4.23m))
- 20 – Meredith Baham (12-6.75 (3.83m))
Long Jump
- 14 – Maddie Pitts (19-5.25 (5.92m))
- T-16 – Royce (19-2.75 (5.86m))
Triple Jump
- 9 – Tesia Thomas (41-4.5 (12.61m))
- 18 – Shannon Mullin (12.10m))
Shot Put
- 5 – Mallory Kauffman (56-4 (17.17m))
Pentathlon
- 2 – Royce (3,925)
- 7 – Pitts (3,622)
NITTANY LIONS IN THE RECORD BOOKS
At the Penn State Tune Up, Dodds posted a 1:16.46 in the men's 600m to claim the third-best time in Penn State history in the event. Dodds' time ranks first in the Big Ten and sixth in the NCAA.
Penn State's women's DMR squad, consisting of Kitching, Goldstein, Gearing, and Kane, ran an 11:03.23 to finish with the no. 2 time in school history. The mark is also 19th in the NCAA.
At the Valentine Invite, DeMars broke Penn State's indoor 3,000-meter record by nearly seven seconds. Tessa Barrett's 9:07.22 was the previous record that had stood since 2017.
Hontz, in his sixth year with the Penn State program, broke four minutes in the mile for the first time in his career on Saturday afternoon at the Valentine Invite. His 3:59.13 was good enough to crack the top-five indoor times in school history, landing him at fifth place all-time.
Kitching, a first-semester freshman, increased her claim to the fourth-best 800-meter time in Penn State history with a 2:03.90 during competition at the Music City Challenge on Saturday afternoon.
The 800-meter races at the Sykes & Sabock Challenge saw two top-five times in program history, both set by freshmen. For the men, Roban's 1:47.01 tied Brannon Kidder for the third-best time in school history in the event. On the women's side, Kitching posted a 2:04.07, good for fourth all-time at Penn State.
Additionally, Dodds posted a 1:02.97 in the men's 500-meter dash to claim fifth place in Penn State history.
Penn State added three marks to its indoor record books at the Penn State National Open.
The first was the women's distance medley relay effort by Kitching, Goldstein, Ullom, and Kane. The foursome collectively ran a 11:04.43 to claim second place in school history.
In the men's 600m, Roban ran a blistering 1:16.91 to etch his name into fourth place in Penn State's indoor record books. Roban joins the likes of Nittany Lion legends Isaiah Harris and Casimir Loxsom on the distinguished list.
Penn State saw two marks crack the top-five in school history at Virginia Tech. 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, Gearing recorded the third best 600-meter time in school history with a 1:29.49.
On January 14 at the Nittany Lion Challenge, 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. Ishii set a new Japanese national indoor record with a 2:21.99, followed by Roban's St. Vincent & the Grenadines national indoor record-breaking 2:24.08.
Merkley's 21.92m/71-11 weight throw effort at the Nittany Lion Challenge increased his claim to the third-best mark in the event in Penn State history and set a new personal best.
FULL INDOOR SCHEDULE
Dec. 2-3 – Bison Opener | Lewisburg, Pa.
Dec. 10 – Blue & White Intrasquad Scrimmage | University Park, Pa.
Jan. 14 – Nittany Lion Challenge | University Park, Pa.
Jan. 20-21 – Hokie Invitational | Blacksburg, Va.
Jan. 27-28 – Penn State National Open | University Park, Pa.
Feb. 4 – Sykes & Sabock Challenge | University Park, Pa.
Feb. 10-11 – Music City Invitational | Nashville, Tenn.
Feb. 10-11 – Valentine Invite | Boston, Mass.
Feb. 17 – Penn State Tune Up | University Park, Pa.
Feb. 18 – Alex Wilson Invite | South Bend, Ind.
Feb. 24-25 – Big Ten Indoor Championships | Geneva, Ohio
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
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