Jan. 31, 2015
Final Stats | PHOTO GALLERY 
Coach Gondak Interview | Hill, Kidder, Seymour Interview
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State track & field program finished out an outstanding weekend Saturday at the Penn State National inside the Ashenfelter III Indoor Track. Continuing their weekend success, the Nittany Lions climbed the national and Big Ten rankings in numerous events. As a team, Penn State captured six event titles Saturday.
The meet was highlighted by Darrell Hill's (Philadelphia, Pa.) school record in the shot put and Brannon Kidder's (Lancaster, Ohio) finish in the 800-meter run, just to name a few performances.Â
Hill continued his stellar senior year in the shot put ring as he bested his own school record, set earlier this year, Saturday afternoon. On his second attempt on the afternoon, Hill recorded a NCAA-leading toss of 67-3.50. His mark held throughout the competition and is now the Penn State school record and Penn State National meet record.
A day after splitting 2:51 in the opening 1,200-meter leg in the men's distance medley relay, Kidder posted another outstanding performance on the track at the Penn State National.
In the men's 800-meter invite, Kidder waited his turn to make his move. Heading into the final 200, Kidder was in third-place, but down the backstretch he made his move and finished strong to take the title with his time of 1:47.86. Heading into today's meet, 1:47.86 ranks third in the nation.
Brian Leap (Bellwood, Pa.) won the men's triple jump with his personal-best mark of 52-3.75; His mark currently ranks sixth in the NCAA. Also in the men's triple jump, Steve Waithe (Parkville, Md.) took second with his distance of 51-9 and freshman Bryce Williams (State College, Pa.) finished fifth with his personal-best mark of 49-5.
In the women's triple jump, Dannielle Gibson (Nassau, Bahamas) tallied a first-place finish (40-7.75) and Kaitlyn Lopez (Buffalo, N.Y.) took fifth (39-2.50).
The Nittany Lions also climbed the national and Big Ten rankings in the women's 400-meter dash as Kiah Seymour (Washington, D.C.) finished second with her time of 53.62 and Dynasty McGee (Flint, Mich.) placed third with a time of 54.19. Heading into this weekend, Seymour's time ranks in the top-15 in the nation, while McGee's time ranks in the top-25.
Xavier Smith (Douglasville, Pa.) finished second in the men's 200 invite with a time of 21.63 and Megan Osborne (Chillicothe, Ohio) finished 10th in the women's 200-meter dash invite with her time of 24.77.
In the men's one mile run, Wade Endress (Altoona, Pa.) posted a personal-best time of 4:02.69 to finish sixth. Bobby Hill (Wellsboro, Pa.) claimed 10th with his nine-second personal-best time of 4:09.25.
Erin Knabe (Voorhees, N.J.) finished third in the women's pole vault invite with her personal-best height of 12-10.25 and Lexi Masterson (Jeannette, Pa.) tied for fourth in the event with her mark of 12-4.50. In the women's pole vault, Hannah Mulhern (Altoona, Pa.) cleared a season-best height of 12-2.50 to finish second.
In the high jump events, Michael McClelland (Washington, Pa.) cleared a season-best height of 6-9.75 to finish third on the men's side and in the women's high jump Ahmenah Richardson (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Sarah Palmer (Gansevoort, N.Y.) both tallied top-five finishes. Richardson cleared 5-8 for third and Palmer posted a height of 5-6 for fifth.
After winning the women's weight throw yesterday, Rachel Fatherly (Williamsport, Pa.) took second in the shot put Saturday with her season-best mark of 51-9.75. Also in the women's shot put, Alyssa Robinson (Saint Clairsville, Ohio) and Obeng Marfo (Ontario, Canada) finished third and fourth, respectively. Robinson tallied an indoor personal-best mark of 48-5.50 and Marfo posted a personal-best distance of 47-7.75.
Luke Pease (Haddonfield, N.J.) wrapped up the heptathlon competition Saturday. Pease opened up the day with a time of 9.10 (724 points) in the 60-meter hurdles. Following the 60-meter hurdles, Pease posted a height of 12-1.50 (535 points) in the pole vault and in the final event, the 1,000-meter run, he clocked in at 2:51.55 (749). Overall, Pease finished fourth with his score of 4,387.
Also on the track for the Penn State women, Tichina Rhodes (Philadelphia, Pa.) (56.97) edged out Janieyah Collins (56.99) of East Carolina to win the women's unseeded 400-meter dash and Rachael DeCecco (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) finished fifth in the 500-meter dash with her personal-best time of 1:17.47. Â
Elizabeth Chikotas (Hellertown, Pa.) finished strong down the homestretch of the women's 3,000-meter run invite to place second with her personal-best time of 9:25.87. On the men's side, Ean DiSilvio (Pittsburgh, Pa.) clocked in for a time of 8:20.41 to place 11th.
The quartet of Osborne, McGee, Rhodes and Seymour combined for a time of 3:40.43 to finish first in the invite section of the women's 4x400-meter relay.
The Nittany Lions ended the meet on a high note as the men's 4x400-meter relay squad took home a first-place finish in their heat. The group of Smith, Jordan Makins (Perth, Australia), Za'Von Watkins (Liverpool, N.Y.) and Robert Rhodes (Brooklyn, N.Y.) posted a time of 3:15.83. Watkins put Penn State into second-place with his surge down the homestretch on the third leg. With an outstanding anchor leg from R. Rhodes and a surge on the final turn, the Nittany Lions were victorious in the men's 4x400-meter relay.
Up next for the Nittany Lions is their first scored meet of the year, the Sykes & Sabock Challenge Cup, next Friday and Saturday at the Ashenfelter III Indoor Track.
For more on Nittany Lion track & field, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter @PennStateTFXC.