UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State track & field team, led by Head Coach John Gondak, announces its complete 2024-25 indoor/outdoor competition schedule, including five total home meets in Happy Valley.
“Penn State track & field is excited to get back on the track and follow up on our amazing 2024 season,” Gondak said. “We have a great balance of home and away meets that will help us prepare for championship season. We look forward to competing in the new-look Big Ten and are ready to show what Penn State track & field is made of.”
Penn State will open up its indoor season with a split-squad affair the weekend of December 6-7, 2024. Part of the group will travel to Lewisburg, Pa. for the Bison Opener while others will head to Boston to partake in the Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener.
The indoor season continues after the new year when Penn State will host its first of four indoor home meets in the 2025 season. The Nittany Lion Challenge will take place on Jan. 18 at The Multi-Sport Facility & Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track.
Following their first home meet, the Nittany Lions will travel to Philadelphia to race in the Penn Invitational on Jan. 25 at Penn’s new indoor track facility. Penn State will then host two consecutive home meets in The Multi-Sport Facility & Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track. The first is the Penn State National Open slated for January 31-February 1, with the Skyes & Sabock Challenge taking place the following week on Feb. 8.
The second split-squad weekend of the indoor season will take place February 14-15. Select Nittany Lions will travel to South Carolina to race in the Clemson Tiger Paw Invite while others will see action in the David Hemery Valentine Invite in Boston. In the Tiger Paw Invite last season, Penn State stood out in both track and field events. Colin Burkhart led the throws squad as his 21.15-meter weight throw mark from the meet is the fifth-best effort in Penn State history.
The Nittany Lions’ last two regular season meets of the indoor season will both take place February 21. A majority of the of the Penn State team will host the Penn State Tune-Up, the fourth and final indoor meet in the Multi-Sport Facility, while others will travel back to Boston for the Terrier DMR Challenge.
This season, the Big Ten Indoor Championships are set to be contested in Indianapolis, Indiana from February 28-March 1. Last season, both Penn State’s men’s and women’s teams finished inside the top three in the conference in team scoring. The Big Ten introduced four new teams to the fold in 2024-25, and the Nittany Lions will get their first taste of the new conference competition in the track & field setting in Indianapolis. Pending qualification, Penn State will then head to the NCAA Indoor Championships in Virginia Beach on March 14-15.
Penn State’s outdoor season starts on March 22, when the team heads back to Philadelphia for the Penn Challenge. Then the Nittany Lions will continue their stretch of nine-straight road meets with the Raleigh Relays, set to take place March 27-29 in North Carolina. The LSU Battle on the Bayou on March 28-29 will wrap up the month of March for Penn State.
The Nittany Lions will have their first split-squad weekend of the outdoor season from April 4-5 when the team will either travel to the Virginia Grand Prix or the Florida Relays. From April 12-13, Penn State will stay in Pennsylvania for the Bison Outdoor Challenge, hosted by Bucknell. Then, from April 18-19, the team will return to Charlottesville to compete in the Virginia Challenge. The Nittany Lions are set for another appearance at the historic Penn Relays during the final week of April, with the famous meet set to take place from April 24-26.
Penn State will then travel to Princeton to compete in the Larry Ellis Open from May 2-3 before returning home to host the annual Jim Thorpe Invite. Penn State’s only home meet of the outdoor campaign will wrap up its regular season slate.
The outdoor postseason schedule will begin with the Big Ten Outdoor Championships from May 16-18. For the first time, the Big Ten Outdoor Championships will be held at historic Hayward Field, in Eugene, Oregon. Last season, Penn State’s Florence Caron took home Big Ten titles in both the 5K and 10K at the outdoor conference meet, while Hayley Kitching won the 800-meter run with a meet record time.
Select Nittany Lions will then make the trip to Jacksonville, Florida for the NCAA East First Round meet from May 28-31. Pending final qualification, the Nittany Lions will conclude their season at the 2025 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which return to Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon from June 11-14.
FULL SCHEDULE
Indoor Season
Dec. 6-7 – Bison Opener | Lewisburg, Pa.
Dec. 7 – Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener | Boston, Mass.
Jan. 18 – Nittany Lion Challenge | University Park, Pa.
Jan. 25 – Penn Invitational | Philadelphia, Pa.
Jan. 31-Feb. 1 – Penn State National Open | University Park, Pa.
Feb. 8 – Sykes & Sabock Challenge | University Park, Pa.
Feb. 14-15 – Clemson Tiger Paw Invite | Clemson, S.C.
Feb. 14-15 – David Hemery Valentine Invitational | Boston, Mass.
Feb. 21 – Penn State Tune-Up | University Park, Pa.
Feb. 21 – Terrier DMR Challenge | Boston, Mass.
Feb. 28-Mar. 1 – Big Ten Indoor Championships | Indianapolis, Ind.
Mar. 14-15 – NCAA Indoor Championships | Virginia Beach, Va.
Outdoor Season
Mar. 22 – Penn Challenge | Philadelphia, Pa.
Mar. 27-29 – Raleigh Relays | Raleigh N.C.
Mar. 28-29 – LSU Battle on the Bayou | Baton Rouge, La.
Apr. 4-5 – Florida Relays | Gainesville, Fla.
Apr. 4-5 – Virgnia Grand Prix | Charlottesville, Va.
Apr. 12-13 – Bison Outdoor Classic| Lewisburg, Pa.
Apr. 18-19 – Virgnia Challenge | Charlottesville, Va.
Apr. 24-26 – Penn Relays | Philadelphia, Pa.
May 2-3 – Larry Ellis Open | Princeton, N.J.
May 9 – Jim Thorpe Invitational | University Park, Pa.
May 16-18 – Big Ten Outdoor Championships | Eugene, Ore.
May 28-31 – NCAA East First Round | Jacksonville, Fla.
June 11-14 – NCAA Outdoor Championships | Eugene, Ore.
July 21-Aug. 3 – USA Championships | Eugene, Ore.