April 3, 2015
Friday Results | Gondak Interview
GAINESVILLE, Fla. -- The Penn State track & field team opened up the 2015 outdoor season Friday at the Florida Relays, which featured 283 college and club teams. Numerous Nittany Lions competed for the first time Friday and Rachel Fatherly (Williamsport, Pa.) and Tori Gerlach (Perkasie, Pa.) recorded second-place finishes.
Fatherly posted a distance of 180-7 in the women's hammer throw and Gerlach clocked in at 10:13.26 in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase. Heading into this weekend, Gerlach's time ranks first in the nation.
"The Florida Relays is a fantastic meet, it has been about four to five years since we were last down here," head coach and director of Penn State track & field/cross country John Gondak said. "This meet provides our student-athletes a great opportunity to compete against other student-athletes to help push them to be the best they can be."
"Our goal today for Tori Gerlach was to get the first round qualifier out of the way in the steeplechase," Gondak said. "We said 10:15 to 10:20 was what we were looking for and she ran 10:13, which is outstanding."
The Nittany Lions began the competition on the track in the women's 100-meter hurdles. In the event, Shelley Black (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) finished 34th (13.94) and Quenee Dale (Ypsilanti, Pa.) placed 36th (13.95). Dale, a freshman, recorded the ninth-fastest 100-meter hurdle time in school history Friday.
Black returned to the track later in the afternoon for the women's 400-meter hurdles; in the women's 400-meter hurdles, she recorded a time of 1:00.72 to finish 31st.
"We had a very solid day, it is a bit of a challenge for events like the long hurdles and the steeplechase, where we haven't been on the outdoor track yet," Gondak said. "To come out and have the performances like we did, is fantastic."
Brannon Kidder (Lancaster, Ohio) led the Nittany Lions in the men's 800-meter run with his third-place finish (1:47.14). Kidder, a junior, recorded his second-fastest time ever in the 800-meter run. His time today is also the fastest since his freshman year when he finished third at the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
Along with Kidder in the 800-meter run, juniors Robby Creese (Mount Airy, Md.) and Robert Rhodes (Brooklyn, N.Y.) recorded personal-best times. Creese finished 11th with his time of 1:48.54 and Rhodes ran 1:49.04 en route to a 17th-place finish.
In the women's 800-meter run, Greta Lindsley (Lancaster, Pa.) and Julie Kocjancic (Pittsburgh, Pa.) recorded personal-best times. Lindsley finished 42nd with her time of 2:12.70 and Kocjancic posted a time of 2:13.57 to finish 47th.
Making her Penn State outdoor debut on the track, freshman Elizabeth Chikotas (Hellertown, Pa.) ran to a 16th-place finish in the 1,500-meter run with her time of 4:29.46.
Redshirt freshman Ean DiSilvio (Pittsburgh, Pa.) got his feet wet Friday, as he competed in his first steeplechase. In his 3,000-meter steeplechase debut, DiSilvio clocked in at 9:11.25 to finish 13th.
"For Ean DiSilvio to run 9:11 in his first steeplechase - he has never jumped a water pit - and to go out and run 9:11 is a great performance for him," Gondak said. "All across the board we had a great day."
Sancho Barrett (Amityville, N.Y.) clocked in at 14.39 to place 42nd in the men's 110-meter hurdles.
Dynasty McGee (Flint, Mich.) finished 20th (53.54) in the women's 400-meter dash and on the men's side, Alex Shisler (State College, Pa.) placed 32nd (47.62). "For Dynasty McGee to run 53 seconds is fantastic," Gondak said.
The 4x400-meter relay quartet of Megan Osborne (Chillicothe, Ohio), McGee, Tichina Rhodes (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Deja Davis (Shelby Charter Township, Mich.) finished 11th in the prelims with their time of 3:42.35.
Along with Fatherly in the women's hammer throw, the Nittany Lions were well represented in the field events Friday.
Sophomore Lexi Masterson (Jeannette, Pa.) opened the outdoor season with a sixth-place finish in the women's pole vault with her height of 13-1.50. In her first outdoor meet as a Nittany Lion, freshman Hannah Mulhern (Altoona, Pa.) vaulted her way into the Penn State record books. Mulhern ended the day in 11th with her personal-best height of 12-7.50. With her height today, she moves into No. 6 all-time at Penn State.
Freshman Obeng Marfo (Ontario, Canada) posted a personal-best mark of 135-11 en route to a 13th-place finish in the women's discus and in the men's discus, Darrell Hill (Philadelphia, Pa.) finished 13th with his distance of 158-8.
After being cooped up during the winter, the Nittany Lion javelin throwers made their way back outdoors for the first time this year.
On the men's side, Penn State tallied a pair of top-five finishes from Michael Shuey (Johnsonburg, Pa.) and Ryan Kerr (Brookville, Pa.). Shuey finished third (231-5) and Kerr recorded a mark of 221-8 for fifth. For the Penn State women, Kayla Zoschg (Emporium, Pa.) made her Nittany Lion debut and finished 14th (138-1).
The Nittany Lions return to action at the Florida Relays tomorrow starting at 11 a.m.
For more on Nittany Lion track & field, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter @PennStateTFXC.