May 16, 2015
Day Two Results | Day Three Start Lists
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Led by a runner-up finish from Tori Gerlach (Perkasie, Pa.) in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase, the Penn State track & field team posted solid results across the board on day two of Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
"It was another outstanding day for Penn State track & field on both the men's and women's side," head coach and director of Penn State cross country and track & field John Gondak said. "We have been running ahead of the point projections and following today we are ahead by 10 points on the women's side and nine on the men's side."
Michigan State's Leah O'Connor broke away from the pack early in the race as she would capture her fourth-straight Big Ten title in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase. With O'Connor on her way to her fourth title, the rest of the field battled for the runner-up spot.
Gerlach and Michigan State's Katie Landwehr were neck and neck for the majority of the race before Gerlach made her move with four laps remaining. After finishing sixth in the meet last year, Gerlach crossed the finish line in 10 minutes, 13.33 seconds for second, almost four seconds over Landwehr (10:17.22).
"I was seeded second heading into the race and honestly the goal was to medal," Gerlach said. "I have never won a medal outdoors and I really wanted to medal and to do that today was awesome."
"Tori had a plan two weeks ago at Stanford and again today she had a plan," Gondak said. "She executed again today and she is maturing as a runner. I am very excited for her to finish second and bring home a silver medal."
Along with Gerlach scoring eight points in the 3,000-meter steeplechase, the Nittany Lion women scored in the four other event finals.
"We have a lot of opportunities for points tomorrow, and I believe the women have eight out of 13 events they can score in," Gondak said. "The men have nine out of 14 opportunities to score tomorrow with a handful of No. 1 seeds."
After tallying a ninth-place finish in the long jump last year, sophomore Dannielle Gibson (Nassau, Bahamas) rebounded Saturday by nearly posting a podium finish.
On her fourth attempt in the competition, Gibson posted a personal-best leap of 20 feet, 2.25 inches for a third-place standing. With one attempt though, Maryland's Thea LaFond out-jumped Gibson by a quarter of an inch (20-2.50) for the third-place finish. In the Penn State record books, Gibson improves her No. 10 spot in school history.
"Dannielle had a great long jump competition and she scored big points for the team," Gondak said.
Also scoring for the Nittany Lion women, freshman Anna Bailey (Harrisburg, Pa.) posted a personal-best distance of 153-4 en route to a sixth-place finish in the women's javelin.
The women' discus throw featured a personal-best and scoring performance from freshman Obeng Marfo (Toronto, Ontario, Canada). Marfo tallied a 15-foot PR en route to a sixth-place finish with her toss of 170-2.
"The day started out with Tal and her performance in the heptathlon," Gondak said. "She had seasonal-bests in all her events and she tallied her best heptathlon in a Penn State uniform."
The duo of Tal Ben-Artzi (Kibbutz Gazit, Israel) and Natalie Shiffler (Irwin, Pa.) closed out competition in the heptathlon Saturday. In the event, Ben-Artzi placed fifth with her Penn State personal-best score of 4,937, while Shiffler placed 10th with her score of 4,288.
Continuing her trend from Friday, Ben-Artzi posted season-best performances in all three events Saturday. She began the day with a leap of 17-6 in the long jump (651 points) then posted a personal-best distance of 97-3 in the javelin (470 points). Heading into the final event, Ben-Artzi was in seventh-place, 83 points behind Maryland's Peyton Wade for fifth.
In the final event, the 800-meter run, Ben-Artzi scored 871 points with her personal-best time of 2:16.52, Ben-Artzi was able to claim fifth-place over Wade by five points and score four points for the Nittany Lions. Her score of 4,937 ranks seventh all-time in the Penn State record books.
Also in the event, Shiffler began day two with a jump of 15-6.25 in the long jump (487 points) then she recorded a toss of 120-1 in the javelin (602 points) and she ended the day with a time of 2:34.68 in the 800-meter run (635 points).
The Nittany Lions qualified two sprinters in the women's 400-meter dash. Sophomore Tichina Rhodes (Philadelphia, Pa.) won heat one with her personal-best time of 53.65. Also in heat one, Dynasty McGee (Flint, Mich.) finished third (53.73) to qualify for the final spot in the finals. Rhodes' time ranks No. 6 all-time at Penn State.
"The women's 400 was phenomenal, for Tichina and Dynasty to make the finals was great," Gondak said.
Despite missing the finals, Shelley Black (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) and Quenee Dale (Ypsilanti, Mich.) both posted personal-best performances in the 100-meter hurdles. In the prelims of the 100-meter hurdles, Black finished 11th with her time of 13.7 and Dale placed 14th with her time of 13.79. In the Penn State record books, Black remains No. 6, while Dale moves from ninth to seventh.
On the men's side, Saturday featured mainly preliminary events for the Nittany Lions.
In his first long jump event of the outdoor season, senior Steve Waithe (Parkville, Md.) added a point to the Penn State total with his eighth-place finish (23-9).
In qualifying, a trio of Nittany Lions advanced to Sunday's finals.
Big Ten leaders Robby Creese (Mount Airy, Md.) and Brannon Kidder (Lancaster, Ohio) secured the top spot in their respective events Saturday. In the prelims of the 1,500-meter run, Creese posted a time of 3:47.69, while Kidder clocked in for a time of 1:47.99 in the 800-meter run.
Also qualifying for the Penn State men, Sancho Barrett (Amityville, N.Y.) advanced to the finals of the men's 110-meter hurdles; Barrett won heat one with his time of 13.88.
The 2015 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships come to a close tomorrow starting at 11 a.m. with the men's shot put and the women's triple jump.
Men's Standings:
1. Nebraska - 44
2. Minnesota - 38
3. Illinois - 35
4. Michigan St. - 30
5. Purdue - 28
6. Wisconsin - 27
7. Iowa - 20
8. Michigan - 14
9. Ohio State - 13
10. Rutgers - 10
11. Penn State - 9
12. Indiana - 5
Women's Standings:
1. Minnesota - 71
2. Michigan State - 52
3. Nebraska - 51
4. Wisconsin - 30
5. Penn State - 24
6. Indiana - 20
7. Michigan - 15
8. Illinois - 13.5
9. Iowa & Maryland - 11
11. Purdue - 9.5
12. Ohio State - 4
For more on Nittany Lion track & field, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter @PennStateTFXC.