UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State track & field team will host the Sykes & Sabock Challenge on Saturday, Feb. 4. The meet marks Penn State's second consecutive home meet and will serve as the team's senior day.
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The Nittany Lions are coming off of a weekend where they achieved 21 marks that cracked the Big Ten's top ten lists for the 2022-23 season. Penn State also enters competition on Saturday with two event squads ranked inside the top ten in the USTFCCCA #EventSquad Rankings. The men's 800m group of Olivier Desmeules (9th in NCAA), Darius Smallwood (13th), Yukichi Ishii (17th), and Handal Roban (20th) is ranked third in the country following a weekend where the foursome's top-20 times in the NCAA also sit 1-4 atop the Big Ten's leaderboard in the event.
Additionally, Penn State's women's high jump squad of Cecelia Bacon (15th in NCAA), Carlie Wilson, Gwen Cudmore, and Chloe Royce slot in at No. 4 in the nation. '
Recently, Desmeules was named the Big Ten Men's Track Athlete of the Week following his 800m dominance at the Penn State National Open. Desmeules also was a part of the men's distance medley relay squad that posted the fourth-best time in the nation this past weekend.
NITTANY LIONS IN THE RECORD BOOKS
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 Hayley Kitching, Zoey Goldstein, Maddie Ullom, and Kileigh Kane. The foursome collectively ran a 11:04.43 to claim second place in school history.
In the men's 600m, Handal 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.
Finally, Faith DeMars posted a 9:10.45 in the women's 3,000m to become the third-fastest Nittany Lion ever in the event. DeMars joined Tori Gerlach, Bridget Franek, and Tessa Barrett as the only Nittany Lions in history to break 9:11.00 in the event.
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.
On January 14 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.
Tyler Merkley's 21.92m/71-11 weight throw effort at the Nittany Lion Invitational increased his claim to the third-best mark in the event in Penn State history and set a new personal best in the event.
A LOOK AHEAD
The Nittany Lions have entered into the following events this upcoming weekend:
Women: 60m Dash, 60m Hurdles, 200m Dash, 500m Dash, 800m Run, Mile Run, 3,000m Run, 4x400m Relay, Long Jump, Triple Jump, Weight Throw, High Jump, Pole Vault
Men: 60m Dash, 60m Hurdles, 200m Dash, 400m Dash, 500m Dash, 800m Run, Mile Run, 3,000m Run, Triple Jump, Shot Put, High Jump, Pole Vault
Penn State has loaded up the field in both the men's and women's 800m, with Desmeules, Smallwood, Ishii, Roban, Carter Fitzgerald and Luke Seymour all slated to take part in the event on the men's side and Rachel Gearing (3rd all-time at PSU), Hayley Kitching, Victoria Vanriele (4th all-time at PSU), Zoe Duffus, and Isabella Culver scheduled to run for the women.
Ka'Mere Day is slated to make his season debut for the Nittany Lions as the third-fastest 60m dash sprinter in Penn State history will suit up in the 60m and the 200m on Saturday.
THE COMPETITION
School Attending (Athletes Competing): Penn State (47), Shippensburg (38), Mount St. Mary's (36), Morgan State (34), James Madison (25), Towson (24), West Virginia (15), Binghamton (14), Tiffin (10), Bucknell (2), Guelph (1)
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 – Big Ten Indoor Championships | Geneva, Ohio
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
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