UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State track & field team will travel to Charlottesville, Va. for the Virginia Challenge from Thursday, April 20, to Saturday, April 22.
Last season, the Nittany Lions set 10 top ten program marks at the Virginia Challenge in an excellent outing for the team. Head coach John Gondak's group seeks to match that success in the three-day meet this year.
Penn State's multi-event athletes are set to compete in their first heptathlon of the 2023 campaign, with those events to take place on Thursday. Penn State's full throws contingent will also return to action this weekend alongside the regularly scheduled track events.
TUNE IN LIVE
Live Results | ACCNX Live Stream
THE COMPETITION
Start lists can be found here and the schedule of events can be found here.
NITTANY LIONS IN THE RANKINGS
The Nittany Lions have 11 top-25 marks in the NCAA and 35 top-ten marks in the Big Ten conference as it prepares for competition at Virginia. Penn State's men's 800-meter squad remains the top group in the nation this week, according to the USTFCCCA #EventSquad rankings. The women's 800-meter group comes in at sixth in the NCAA and the women's 1500-meter squad is 14th.
NCAA Top-25
Men's Team
- 6 – Tyler Merkley – Hammer Throw: 236-11 (72.21m)
- 12 – Handal Roban – 800m: 1:47.29
- 18 – Darius Smallwood – 800m: 1:47.67
- 23 – Callum Dodds – 800m: 1:47.80
- 23 – Collin Burkhart – Javelin: 230-5 (70.23m)
Women's Team
- 11 – Mallory Kauffman – Shot Put: 56-2 (17.12m)
- 16 – Rachel Gearing – 800m: 2:03.64
- T-16 – Cecelia Bacon – High Jump: 5-11.25 (1.81m)
- 17 – Faith DeMars – Steelplechase: 9:59.54
- 19 – Faith DeMars – 5000m: 15:44.98
- 23 – Hayley Kitching – 800m: 2:04.33
Big Ten Top Ten
Men's Team
400m
- 5 – James Onwuka – 46.91
800m
- 2 – Handal Roban – 1:47.29
- 3 – Darius Smallwood – 1:47.67
- 4 – Callum Dodds – 1:47.80
- 5 – Olivier Desmeules – 1:48.41
- 6 – Evan Dorenkamp – 1:48.47
- 7 – Yukichi Ishii – 1:48.50
1500m
- 4 – Evan Dorenkamp – 3:40.30
10,000m
- 6 – Payton Sewall – 30:07.80
3,000m Steeplechase
- 4 – Josh Lewis – 9:03.54
4x400m Relay
- 5 – Smallwood, Dodds, Roban, Desmeules – 4x400m – 3:08.57
Pole Vault
- 8 – Luke Knipe – 16-7.25 (5.06m)
Shot Put
- 9 – Lucciano Pizarro – 60-8 (18.49m)
Discus
- 10 – Tyler Merkley – 180-8 (55.06m)
Hammer Throw
- 2 – Tyler Merkley – 236-11 (72.21m)
- 8 – Collin Burkhart – 214-8 (65.43m)
Javelin
- 4 – Collin Burkhart – 230-5 (70.23m)
- 9 – Kevin Bartosh – 219-10 (67.02m)
Women's Team
800m
- 4 – Rachel Gearing – 2:03.64
- 5 – Hayley Kitching – 2:04.33
- 6 – Allison Johnson – 2:05.21
1500m
- 3 – Maddie Ullom – 4:16.05
- 4 – Kileigh Kane – 4:16.66
5000m
- 2 – Faith DeMars – 15:44.98
3,000m Steeplechase
- 1 – Faith DeMars – 9:59.54
- 4 – Makenna Krebs – 10:17.14
4x100m Relay
- 7 – Goldstein, Brown, Madson, Princz – 45.56
4x400m Relay
- 6 – Madson, Brown, Goldstein, Gearing – 3:41.44
High Jump
- 2 – Cecelia Bacon – 5-11.25 (1.81m)
Pole Vault
- T-6 – Hailey Zurich – 12-11.5 (3.95m)
Long Jump
- T-9 – Chloe Royce – 19-9.5 (6.03m)
Shot Put
- 2 – Mallory Kauffman – 56-2 (17.12m)
Discus
- 7 – Mallory Kauffman – 172-8 (52.64m)
Hammer Throw
- 9 – Jean Starr – 186-5 (56.81m)
Javelin
- 9 – Audrey Friedman – 151-9 (46.26m)
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateTFXC) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatetfxc).