GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Penn State track & field team posted four top-ten marks in program history in a solid weekend of competition at the Florida Relays.
"It was an excellent weekend at the Florida Relays for Penn State track & field," said head coach John Gondak. "We had numerous marks that will end up near or at the top of the Big Ten and rank in the top 15 in the NCAA. We told the team this weekend and next weekend at LSU and Duke are important weekends to perform against great competition to build confidence as we head toward championship season. We took advantage of this weekend and are already looking forward to next weekend."
To highlight the two-day event for the Nittany Lions, Evan Dorenkamp, Hayley Kitching, Allison Johnson, and James Onwuka all entered the Penn State record books with standout performances on the track. Additionally, many other Nittany Lions made season debuts on various events, recording outstanding finishes.
Mallory Kauffman posted two top-five finishes in the shot put and discus, including an event win in the discus. Tyler Merkley set a season-best mark in the hammer throw, solidifying his standing inside the top ten in the NCAA. The Nittany Lion 800-meter squad posted multiple times that will slot inside the top-25 in the NCAA on both the men's and the women's side. Penn State also shook up the Big Ten leaderboard in multiple events throughout the competition.
It was, overall, an outstanding meet for the team as it heads into another important split-squad weekend at Duke and LSU.
FRIDAY EVENT SUMMARY
On Friday night, Tyler Merkley (234-08 (71.53m)) and Collin Burkhart (209-02 (63.77m)) each posted season-best marks in the hammer throw. Merkley's took third in the competition and slots in at second in the Big Ten and inside the top-ten in the NCAA, based on numbers entering the weekend. Additionally, Kevin Bartosh posted a 215-11 (65.81m) javelin throw to come in fourth overall.
On the track, Penn State's men's 4x400m relay squad posted a 3:09.09 to earn a spot in Saturday's final round. Onwuka began his incredible weekend with a blazing 45.19 anchor split to propel the team into the finals.
In the 1500m, Maddie Ullom posted a 4:16.75 to finish fifth overall, just about two seconds shy of her all-time personal best, a 4:14.58 that ranks second all-time at Penn State. On the men's side, A pair of PRs led the way in a strong effort. Evan Dorenkamp ran a 3:40.30, setting the sixth-best time in school history to claim third place in the event, and Drew Maher posted a 3:44.11 for an eighth-place finish.
SATURDAY EVENT SUMMARY
In the field events on Saturday, Merkley competed in the discus, posting a 180-07 (55.06m) to claim fifth overall. Mallory Kauffman threw in both the shot put and the discus. In the shot put, she earned fourth place overall with a season-best 54-11.5 (16.75m). In her final event of the day, she won the discus competition, posting a 168-04 (51.32m) throw.
Penn State's 800-meter squad started off the track events with a bang. Penn State's women posted three top-ten finishes, each going sub 2:06. Rachel Gearing took fourth overall with a 2:03.92, Kitching finished sixth with a 2:04.33, and Johnson posted a 2:05.28 to cross the line ninth. Kitching's time slots in at sixth in Penn State history in the outdoor 800m, and Johnson's comes in ninth. With Gearing already holding second place on that list, the Nittany Lions now have three members of their top-ten outdoor 800-meter list on their roster this season.
For the men's squad, Penn State had three runners in the top five. Darius Smallwood finished in second with a 1:47.67 lifetime-best mark, followed by Callum Dodds at 1:47.80. Handal Roban finished fifth with a 1:48.63 and Carter Fitzgerald came in 14th-place, running a 1:50.50.
In the men's 400-meter dash, Onwuka clocked a 46.91, tying Ben Karcz for 10th all-time in Penn State history and finishing 11th overall in the competition. Korbin Martino posted a 47.98 to finish 23rd.
In Penn State's final event of the meet, the Nittany Lion 4x400 squad posted a 3:08.57 to claim third place overall.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions will return to action this coming weekend when they split the squad to travel to Duke from April 6-8 and LSU on April 8.
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