UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State track & field delivered an impressive second day at the Virginia Challenge Friday, one that saw several program records rewritten.
The biggest came in the women’s 1500-meter invite, where Hayley Kitching shattered the program record by nearly five seconds. The senior’s 4:05.81 became the facility record as well as improving her personal best by nearly 10 seconds. Ada Rand also claimed the sixth-fastest time in program history with a 4:14.79.
Sprinter Marie-Éloïse LeClair also delivered in the women’s 100-meter, running an 11.25. Her performance earned her the second-fastest time in program history, 0.04 seconds behind Connie Moore’s record set in 2004.
EVENT SUMMARY
Day 2 started with the women’s hammer throw, where a trio of Nittany Lions showed their strength. Alex Pancoast finished with a 178-11.00 (54.53m), Gabby Cope turned in a 178-3.00 (54.34m) and Gabi Deglau recorded a 176-6.00 (53.81m). All three athletes placed in the top third of the 45-athlete field, with Cope’s performance a personal record.
Other notable early Penn State results included Jenna Young, who took the women’s high jump with a personal record 5-8.50 (1.74m). The men’s and women’s 1500-meter races saw one Nittany Lion earn a top 10 finish: Claire Daniels for the women (ninth at 4:28.61) and Jacob Smith for the men (eighth at 3:48.70).
In the women’s 800-meter run, Allison Johnson improved her eighth-best time in program history, running a 2:04.55 to take third place in the meet. Tayissa Buchanan clocked in just behind Johnson, running a fifth-place 2:04.96.
The men’s 800-meter run was dominated by Penn State. Niko Schultz earned the third-fastest time in program history with a 1:45.24, narrowly holding off Allon Clay by 0.002 seconds, who earned the fourth-fastest. Yukichi Ishii secured the eighth-fastest time in program history, running a 1:46.21.
Schultz, Clay and Ishii earned second through fourth place in the meet and were joined by Andrew Regnier, who came in 10th at 1:46.91. Kaleb Nastari and Carter Fitzgerald completed the six Penn State athletes who finished in the top 20.
Staying on the track, Addyson White ran a personal record 1:00.31 in the women’s 400-meter hurdles, with Abasiono Akpan turning in a 1:01.03, ensuring both Nittany Lions placed in the top 10 for the meet. The men’s event saw Matt DeMatteo run a 53.07.
The 3000-meter steeplechase invite both ended with a Penn State student athlete earning sixth place. Justin Healey took sixth in the men’s event at 8:59.18, while Allison Dougherty claimed sixth in the women’s event at 10:38.51. The final running event for the blue and white ended with Nick Sloff running a 14:01.12 in the men’s 5000-meter run.
Kyle Moore continued his string of solid performances in the men’s long jump, finishing second at 24-3.00 (7.39m), while Joe White jumped a 23-1.25 (7.04m).
Moving to the throws, where Collin Burkhart broke 66m in the men’s hammer. His 217-9.00 (66.39m) earned him fifth place.
The men’s shot put event featured several Nittany Lions, with Ryan Henry throwing a 63-11.00 (19.48m), taking the seventh-best mark in program history. Dylan Lambrecht finished one spot behind Henry with a 63-9.75 (19.45m), earning the eighth-best throw in program history. Bryce Thompson also took tenth in the meet, finishing at 61-8.50 (18.81m).
Sasha Garnett improved to sixth all-time in program history with a 53-11.75 (16.44m) in the women’s shot put, while Skye Petrie-Cameron threw a 51-8.50 (15.76m).
UP NEXT
Penn State concludes the Virginia Challenge Saturday, with the women’s 100-meter hurdles starting the events featuring Nittany Lions at 11:30 a.m.
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