March 12, 2015
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State track & field team is ready for the 2015 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships as 11 Nittany Lions qualified for the meet in nine events. The NCAA Indoor Championships are held at the Randal Tyson Track Center in Fayetteville, Ark., March 13-14. Along with the 11 student-athlete qualifiers, three Nittany Lions (Deja Davis, Jordan Makins and Alex Shisler) will serve as alternates for the relay events.
NCAA INDOOR TRACK & FIELD CHAMPIONSHIPS MEET INFO
When: March 13-14
Where: Randal Tyson Track Center, Fayetteville, Ark.
Start Time: Friday: 10 a.m., Saturday: 10:45 a.m. (CT)
Live Results: Flashresults.com
NITTANY LION INFO
The No. 9 Penn State men will be represented in the mile, 3,000-meter run, distance medley relay, shot put and triple jump. On the women's side, Penn State will compete in the 400, 4x4, shot put and weight throw.
The Nittany Lion men are tied for second in the Big Ten with five event entries, while the Penn State women are tied for first in the Big Ten with four event entries.
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (All times listed are Central Time)
Friday:
4:00 p.m.: women's weight throw - finals (Rachel Fatherly)
6:15 p.m.: men's one mile run - semifinals (Brannon Kidder)
6:55 p.m.: women's 400-meter dash - semifinals (Kiah Seymour)
9:20 p.m.: men's distance medley relay - finals
Saturday:
3:45 p.m.: women's shot put - finals (Rachel Fatherly)
6:00 p.m.: men's triple jump - finals (Brian Leap)
6:10 p.m.: men's one mile run - finals
6:30 p.m.: men's shot put - finals (Darrell Hill)
6:40 p.m.: women's 400-meter dash - finals
8:15 p.m.: men's 3,000-meter run - finals (Robby Creese)
8:30 p.m.: women's 4x400-meter relay - finals
CHAMPIONSHIP SEEDS
On the track for the Penn State men, Robby Creese (Mount Airy, Md.) enters the meet seeded eighth in the 3,000-meter run with his school record time of 7:50.36, Brannon Kidder (Lancaster, Ohio) is third in the mile (3:57.13) and the distance medley relay (Kidder, Robert Rhodes ((Brooklyn, N.Y.)), Za'Von Watkins ((Liverpool, N.Y.)) and Creese) is second with its time of 9:28.36.
In the field for the Penn State men, Darrell Hill (Philadelphia, Pa.) is seeded third in the shot put with his school record toss of 67-3.50 and Brian Leap (Bellwood, Pa.) is seeded 13th in triple jump with his mark of 52-6.75. Two weeks ago at the Big Ten meet, Leap tallied the No. 2 mark all-time at Penn State in the triple jump (52-6.75) en route to a second-place finish.
The Nittany Lion women will be represented in the 400-meter dash, shot put, weight throw and the 4x400-meter relay.
Rachel Fatherly (Williamsport, Pa.) is slated to compete in the shot put and the weight throw. Fatherly is one of three student-athletes to qualify for both throwing events. Heading into the meet, she is seeded 13th in the shot put (55-5.75) and 14th in the weight throw (69-2).
The women's 4x400-meter relay returns to the NCAA Indoor Championships after posting a fifth-place finish and school record time (3:33.13) last year. The Nittany Lions' 4x400-meter relay returns three members from last year's fifth place squad.
Sophomore Megan Osborne (Chillicothe, Ohio) joins All-American returners Dynasty McGee (Flint, Mich.), Tichina Rhodes (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Kiah Seymour (Washington, D.C.). The women's 4x400-meter relay enters the meet 11th with its time of 3:34.90, a time they ran at the Randal Tyson Track Center earlier this year.
Seymour will also be running in the 400-meter dash; she is seeded 14th (52.72). Last year at the NCAA Indoor Championships, Seymour finished sixth in the 400-meter dash with her time of 52.85.
RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS
Seymour leads a group of six Nittany Lions that have garnered All-America honors in their careers. Seymour along with McGee and Rhodes were on the women's 4x400-meter relay that posted a fifth-place finish at both NCAA meets last year. Seymour also tallied a sixth-place finish in the 400-meter dash at the 2014 NCAA indoor meet.
Creese, Kidder and Watkins were on the Penn State distance medley relay squad that finished second at the 2013 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships.
HOW THEY GOT HERE
On the men's side, Hill qualified for the shot put with his school record mark of 67-3.50 at the Penn State National. Also at the Penn State National, the distance medley relay quartet of Kidder, Rhodes, Watkins and Creese clocked in for a time of 9:28.26.
A pair of Nittany Lion men used their performances at the Husky Classic to qualify for the NCAA meet, as Creese set the school record in the 3,000-meter run (7:50.36) and Kidder posted the second-fastest mile time in school history (3:57.13).
Leap posted the second-best triple jump (52-6.75) mark in school history to tally a second-place finish at the Big Ten Championships. Also at the Big Ten Championships, Seymour won the 400-meter dash with her time of 52.72.
The women's 4x400-meter relay of Osborne, Rhodes, McGee and Seymour recorded a time of 3:34.90 at the Randal Tyson Track Center to punch their ticket to the NCAA meet.
Fatherly recorded a pair of personal-bests at the Penn State Tune-Up to advance to Fayetteville. At the Penn State Tune-Up, Fatherly recorded distances of 55-5.75 (shot put) and 69-2 (weight throw).
B1G CHAMPS
The Nittany Lions captured six Big Ten titles two weeks ago at the 2015 Big Ten Championships at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio. Individually on the track, senior Robby Creese won the mile and the 3,000-meter run, Tori Gerlach won the 5,000-meter run and Kiah Seymour captured her second 400-meter dash title.
The men's distance medley relay of the Jordan Makins (Perth, Aus.), Alex Shisler (State College, Pa.), Watkins and Kidder captured Penn State's fourth-straight conference title in the DMR.
In the field, senior Hill won his first indoor Big Ten shot put title. He went onto finish first in the shot put at the 2014 Big Ten Outdoor Championships.
USTFCCCA HONORS
Last week, the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced its 2015 indoor track & field season award winners. Award winners were voted upon by USTFCCCA member coaches.
Head coach John Gondak was named the USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Men's Head Coach of the Year and senior Darrell Hill was tabbed as the USTFCCCA Mid-Atlantic Men's Field Athlete of the Year.
In his first year at the helm of the Penn State track & field program, Gondak led the Nittany Lion men to the top ranking spot in the region and a top-ten national ranking. The Penn State men enter the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships with five entries with one each in mid-distance, distance, jumping, and throwing events and a DMR. In addition, the program won its home Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup over regional foe Princeton.
Gondak also coached the Nittany Lions to two sub-four minute mile times this season. The men's mid-distance and distance runners posted five top-five performances all-time in the Penn State record books, including Robby Creese's school record time of 7:50.36 in the 3,000-meter run.
During his time as an assistant coach with the Nittany Lions, Gondak collected five Mid-Atlantic Assistant Coach of the Year awards.
During his senior season, Hill won five of six shot put events, with his only loss coming to NCAA Champion Ryan Crouser. Hill also set the school record in the shot put twice. At the season-opening Penn State Relays (Jan. 10), Hill broke the school record with his mark of 66-2.5. Later in January, Hill broke his own school record with a mark of 67-3.50 at the Penn State National (Jan. 31).
CLIMBING THE CHARTS
The 2015 Nittany Lions have set 13 top-5 performances in the Penn State record books, including two school records (Creese, 3,00-meter run; Hill, shot put).
BIG TEN RECAP
Men -
GENEVA, Ohio - The Penn State men's track & field team tallied a fourth-place finish (72 points) at the 2015 Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships Saturday at the SPIRE Institute. Nebraska won the Big Ten title with a score of 127 points.
The Nittany Lion men captured four event titles on the weekend. Robby Creese (Mount Airy, Md.) and Darrell Hill (Philadelphia, Pa.) won individual titles, while the distance medley relay won its fourth-straight conference title.
Creese won his first Big Ten title in the 3,000-meter run with his time of 8:10.75 Friday. Heading into the final lap, Creese passed Wisconsin's Morgan McDonald to take the lead and he finished strong to claim the title. Creese's title sparked three-straight titles by the Penn State men to end day one of the Big Ten meet. Along with Creese taking the crown in the 3,000-meter run, Matt Fischer (Kennett Square, Pa.) placed sixth in the race with his time of 8:14.13.
Shortly after Creese crossed the finish line, Hill won his first indoor Big Ten shot put title. Hill placed first with his toss of 66-6. Last year at the outdoor Big Ten meet, Hill claimed the shot put title with his mark of 67-6.
Having already competing earlier in the day, Kidder, Jordan Makins (Perth, Australia), Alex Shisler (State College, Pa.) and Za'Von Watkins (Liverpool, N.Y.) teamed up for Penn State in the men's distance medley relay.
Makins led off the men's distance relay followed by Shisler, Watkins and Kidder. As a group, the Nittany Lions posted an overall time of 9:40.62, which was less than a second off the SPIRE facility record of 9:39.87.
On the final day of the Big Ten meet, the Nittany Lions tallied four podium finishes, including Robby Creese's (Mount Airy, Md.) second title of the weekend.
A day after competing in multiple events, Creese and Brannon Kidder (Lancaster, Ohio) went back to work for the Nittany Lions. Creese and Kidder both ran in the mile, while Kidder also ran in the 600-meter run.
In the mile, Creese went onto capture his second Big Ten title of the weekend and his second mile Big Ten title in a three-year span. Creese crossed the finish line first (4:11.41) with Kidder right behind him for second (4:11.50).
Kidder then returned later in the day for the 600-meter run. In the 600-meter run, Robert Rhodes (Brooklyn, N.Y.) posted a time of 1:18.53 for sixth, while Kidder clocked in at 1:18.92 to place eighth.
Seniors Brian Leap (Bellwood, Pa.) and Steve Waithe (Parkville, Md.) recorded podium finishes in the triple jump event. On his second-to-last jump, Leap recorded the second-best mark in school history (52-6.75) to take the lead. His distance would not hold as Iowa's Babatunde Amosu won the title on the final jump of the event. Leap's distance Saturday moved him into 10th in the nation. Waithe rounded out the top-three of the triple jump with his distance of 52-0.
In the final race of his Penn State indoor career, the final of the 60-meter hurdles, Sancho Barrett (Amityville, N.Y.) recorded a personal-best time of 7.89 to finish sixth overall.
For their performances this weekend, Creese, Darrell Hill (Philadelphia, Pa.), Kidder, Makins, Shisler and Watkins were named first team All-Big Ten and Leap was named second team All-Big Ten.
Big Ten Final Standings
1) Nebraska 127
2) Illinois 86
3) Minnesota 76
4) Penn State 72
5) Michigan 67
6) Ohio State 60
7) Iowa & Indiana 49
9) Michigan State 39
10) Wisconsin 38
11) Purdue 37
12) Rutgers 2
Women -
GENEVA, Ohio - The Penn State women's track & field team tied for third at the 2015 Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships with a score of 68 points. The Nittany Lions posted four podium finishes on Saturday at the SPIRE Institute. Ohio State won the 2015 Big Ten Indoor meet with a score of 84 points.
The 3,000-meter run highlighted Friday for the Nittany Lion women. Out of the gate, Tori Gerlach (Perkasie, Pa.) and freshman Elizabeth Chikotas (Hellertown, Pa.) along with Michigan State's Rachele Schulist and Wisconsin's Sarah Disanza broke away from the 15 other runners early.
With Schulist breaking away from the lead pack, Gerlach ran with Disanza throughout the race for the second-place spot. Disanza edged out Gerlach down the homestretch to place second. In the end, Gerlach finished third (9:17.39) and Chikotas placed fourth (9:21.62).
Three Nittany Lions made the finals of the shot put. Rachel Fatherly (Williamsport, Pa.) finished fourth with her toss of 51-0.25, while Alyssa Robinson (Saint Clairsville, Ohio) and freshman Obeng Marfo (Ontario, Canada) placed eighth (47-6.50) and ninth (47-6.50), respectively.
In the pole vault, Lexi Masterson (Jeannette, Pa.) finished 15th with her season-best height of 13-1. Masterson missed on her three attempts at a personal-best height of 13-5.
After finishing third and fourth respectively in the 3,000-meter run Friday afternoon, Tori Gerlach (Perkasie, Pa.) and Elizabeth Chikotas (Hellertown, Pa.) returned to the track for the 5,000-meter run. With six laps to go in the race, Gerlach broke away from the field to take the lead, while Chikotas was in eighth. In final laps of the race, Gerlach held off Michigan State's Lindsay Clark to win her first 5,000-meter run Big Ten title (16:04.64). Chikotas climbed back in the final six laps of the race to finish fourth (16:20.81). Gerlach's time today ranks third all-time in the Penn State record books and her time moves her into 19th in the nation.
Heading into the 400-meter dash final, defending Big Ten champion junior Kiah Seymour (Washington, D.C.) held the top-time in the Big Ten. In the final of the 400-meter dash, Seymour took an early lead and finished strong down the homestretch to return to the top of the podium with her time of 52.72. Heading into the Big Ten meet, Seymour's time (52.72) ranks 12th in the nation. The top-16 times in the nation will qualify for the NCAA meet in two weeks. With Dynasty McGee (Flint, Mich.) placing seventh (54.62) in the 400-meter dash, the Nittany Lions scored 12 points in the event.
Following a fourth-place finish in the shot put on Friday, Rachel Fatherly (Williamsport, Pa.) found the podium Saturday afternoon in the weight throw. With one attempt left in the event, Fatherly was tied for third. On her final attempt, Fatherly passed Minnesota's Devin Stanford for second place with her toss of 66-6.50.
In the final event of the meet for the Penn State women, the 4x400-meter relay, the quartet of Megan Osborne (Chillicothe, Ohio), McGee, Tichina Rhodes (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Seymour posted a second-place finish with their time of 3:35.85. After winning the 400-meter dash earlier in the day, Seymour returned to the track to anchor the Nittany Lions. Despite a late charge from Seymour down the homestretch, Ohio State's Aisha Cavin, Jr. held off the Nittany Lions to take the crown by four-hundredths of a second. Ohio State finished first with a time of 3:35.81.
Big Ten Final Standings
1) Ohio State 84
2) Michigan 69
3) Penn State & Purdue 68
5) Michigan State & Nebraska 65
7) Wisconsin 58
8) Maryland 53
9) Minnesota 51
10) Illinois 40
11) Indiana 34
12) Rutgers 24
13) Iowa 22
LAST YEAR AT THE NCAA MEET
Day One Recap
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - Senior Mahagony Jones (Cleveland, Ohio) highlighted day one of competition for the Nittany Lions at the NCAA Indoor Championships, finishing third in the 200 meters to garner first-team honors. Redshirt-senior Will Barr (Urbana, Ohio) claimed eighth in the weight throw and also earned first-team All-America honors.
Jones used personal bests in the prelims and finals to race to a third-place finish in the 200 meters. Her preliminary time if 23.09 earned her passage into the finals, where she ran a 22.93 to claim third place and her first career All-America honor. Her time is the second-fastest in Penn State history in the 200. Jones also finished 12th in the 60-meter dash preliminaries on Friday.
Barr's toss of 69-9 (21.2m) in the weight throw earned him eighth place and marked his second career All-American status.
Sophomore Kiah Seymour (Washington, D.C.) continued to keep the nation on notice on Friday, advancing through the preliminary rounds of the 400 meter dash. Seymour qualifies to Saturday's final with a time of 52.58 in which she was able to get out and hold on while pacing off of outdoor champion Ashley Spencer.
Redshirt-senior Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas) finished 12th overall in the 60-meter hurdles, earning her second-team All-America honors. Britton came up short of advancing to the finals after running a 8.22.
On the men's side, sophomore Za'Von Watkins (Liverpool, N.Y.) muscled his way to qualify for the 800 meter run final in a time of 1:51.82. This marks the second-straight year that the Nittany Lions have had an entrant in the men's 800-meter final at the NCAA Indoor Championships, as Casimir Loxsom placed second in the event a year ago. Big Ten Indoor Champion Brannon Kidder (Lancaster, Ohio.) came up a bit short finishing in a time of 1:52.02, which did not qualify him to this year's final.
Senior Jon Hendershot (Nazareth, Pa.) finished in a three-way tie for 10th after jumping 7-1/2 (2.15m). The men's distance medley relay finished 11th overall with a time of 9:57.88. Hendershot and the DMR competitors, Kidder, Watkins, junior Wade Endress (Altoona, Pa.) and junior Robby Creese (Mount Airy, Md.) all earned second-team All-American honors for their efforts.
Day Two Recap
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - The Penn State track & field team finished the 2014 Indoor Championships strong on Saturday and when the dust settled, the squads came away with 10 All-America honors for the weekend. The Penn State women were the highest finishing Big Ten team, and placed 14th with 15 points.
Setting a new school mark in the process, the women's 4x400 meter relay team of junior Dynasty McGee (Flint, Michigan), senior Mahagony Jones (Cleveland, Ohio), freshman Tichina Rhodes (Philadelphia, Pa.), and sophomore Kiah Seymour (Washington, D.C.) finished fifth in a time of 3:33.13. Seymour anchored the relay in a blistering time of 51.98.
Individually, Seymour was also sixth in the 400-meter dash final with a time of 52.85, earning first team All-America honors as an individual as well as for the relay.
Senior Brittney Howell (Wyncote, Pa.) finished seventh in the pentathlon while earning her first career All-America status. Howell put on an impressive performance by setting a personal record in overall points with a score of 4202.
Howell started off the day with a personal record in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.31. Later in the day, she leaped to a huge personal best in long jump with a mark of 20-04.5 (6.21m).
On the men's side, Junior Steve Waithe (Parkville, Md.) was able to capture his first All-American status with a sixth place finish in triple jump with a mark of 51-10.5 (15.81m). Sophomore Za'Von Watkins (Liverpool, N.Y.) was able to earn his All-American status with a seventh place finish in a time of 1:50.25. The men's team finished 32nd with six points.
FOLLOW ALONG
Fans can follow along with live results on Flashresults.com and ESPN3.com will be streaming the meet starting at 6 p.m. (CT) both nights. @PennStateTFXC will be posting updates via Twitter throughout the meet. A tape delay of the championship will air Monday, March 23 starting at 7 p.m. Eastern time on ESPNU.