May 15, 2015
Day One Results
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- High school teammates Glen Burkhardt (Kennett Square, Pa.) and Matt Fischer (Kennett Square, Pa.) led the Nittany Lions on day one of the 2015 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships with their performances in the men's 10,000-meter run. In the 10,000-meter debuts, the Nittany Lion duo scored a pair of top-10 finishes.
The 2015 Penn State True Grit award winner, Burkhardt, battled with the leaders throughout race to finish fourth with his time of 29 minutes, 31.42 seconds. Also in the race, Fischer (29:51.69) edged out Michigan State's Caleb Rhynard by four-hundredths of a second for a sixth-place finish. Penn State was the only school to have two runners score points in the race.
For the majority of the race, Burkhardt and Fischer were in scoring position. With about five laps to go, the lead pack including Burkhardt and Fischer broke away from the rest of the field. They both finished strong down the final laps for their respective finishes.
"It was kind of what I would expect," Burkhardt said on his first 10k. "For the first 5k you are just cruising and in the second 5k, the pace picks up and it becomes a true 5k race."
Burkhardt's time Friday was a second off the No. 10 performance all-time in school history (29:30.6 - Alan Scharsu, 1980). His time also moves him into contention to qualify for the NCAA East Preliminary Round.
"This is my second outdoor Big Ten meet," Burkhardt said. "I was able to comeback from injury earlier this year and I knew I could make a difference."
The Nittany Lion men scored eight points in the 10,000-meter run to close out the opening day of competition.
"It was a great 10k for them, it was their first 10k on the track," head coach and director of Penn State cross country and track & field John Gondak said. "The first time running a 10k is a grind mentality and they handled it like champions."
"To finish fourth and sixth was outstanding for the men and for the team as well," Gondak said. "We also had big PR's in the hammer throw."
In their Big Ten Outdoor Championships debut, Justin Berg (Phoenixville, Pa.) and Kory Decesaris (Danielsville, Pa.) both recorded personal-best performances in the men's hammer throw.
Decesaris, a redshirt freshman, finished 13th overall with a toss of 198-5, while Berg placed 20th with a personal-best toss of 185-5. Decesaris' mark Friday is an 11-foot PR and ranks No. 6 all-time at Penn State.
The women's hammer throw featured a pair of season-best performances from the Nittany Lions. Rachel Fatherly (Williamsport, Pa.) and Annjulie Vester (Homburg, Germany) both recorded top-five all-time marks in school history Friday.
In the women's hammer throw, Fatherly finished eighth with a personal-best toss of 191-9; her throw ranks fourth all-time at Penn State. Vester, fifth-year senior transfer from Virginia Tech, posted the No. 5 mark in school history (191-2) for a ninth-place finish. Her toss Friday should qualify her for the NCAA East Preliminary Round in two weeks.
Tal Ben-Artzi (Kibbutz Gazit, Israel) and Natalie Shiffler (Irwin, Pa.) represented the Nittany Lions in the heptathlon. With the first day of action complete, Ben-Artzi is in sixth-place with her score of 2,945 points and Shiffler is in 10th-place with a score of 2,564 points.
In the opening day, Ben-Artzi posted seasonal-bests in all four events. She opened the day with a time of 15.23 (811 points) in the 100-meter hurdles then she tied her season-best height of 5-5.75 (818 points) in the high jump. In the shot put, she posted a mark of 35-2.50 (577 points) and she closed out the first day of action with a time of 26.68 (739 points) in the 200-meter dash.
For Shiffler, she posted a pair of personal-best performances on the day.
Shiffler began the competition with a personal-best time of 15.62 (762 points) in the 100-meter hurdles then she posted a height of 5-2.25 (712 points) in the high jump. In the shot put, Shiffler tied her season-best (31-2) for 497 points and she ended the day with a personal-best 28.49 (593 points) in the 200-meter dash.
The women's heptathlon concludes Saturday with the long jump, javelin throw and the 800-meter run.
Also competing Friday, sophomore Lexi Masterson (Jeannette, Pa.) tied for 16th with her height of 12-10.25 in the women's pole vault.
"We challenged the team this weekend to go out and work, PR and be the best they can be," Gondak said.
The Nittany Lions return to action tomorrow starting at 10:15 a.m. with the heptathlon long jump.
Day One Standings
Men:
1. Wisconsin -- 21
2. Purdue -- 18
3. Illinois -- 11
4. Penn State -- 8
5. Michigan State & Minnesota -- 6
7. Iowa -- 4
8. Nebraska -- 3
9. Michigan -- 1
Women:
1. Michigan State -- 26
2. Minnesota -- 21
3. Nebraska -- 18
4. Indiana -- 14
5. Michigan -- 12
6. Illinois -- 11.5
7. Iowa & Wisconsin -- 6
9. Purdue -- 1.5
10. Penn State -- 1
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