May 17, 2015
Big Ten Final Results
EAST LANSING, Mich. -- After standing for 11 years, Ja'Nai O'Connor's school record mark of 55 feet, 4.75 inches in the women's shot put is now the number two performance in school history following Rachel Fatherly's (Williamsport, Pa.) silver medal throw Sunday at the 2015 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships. As a team, the Nittany Lion women finished seventh with their score of 66 points.
"When you are operating in two-thirds capacity in regards to being down and redshirting, I am really proud in how this team fought for a fifth-place on the men's side and we were seventh on the women's side, but just a point out of sixth," Gondak said.
Fatherly, a junior, has been climbing the all-time charts all season in search of the top spot in school history.
In the women's shot put, Fatherly tallied a distance of 56-0 breaking the school record on her second to last throw, but she was not done for the day. On her final attempt, Fatherly bested the previous throw by 3.25 inches. Overall, Fatherly placed second with her toss of 56-3.25.
Heading into the 2015 outdoor season, Fatherly ranked fourth all-time at Penn State with her mark of 52-10. Last weekend at the Jim Thorpe Invite, she posted the No. 3 mark in school history (54-10.25). She wasn't the only Nittany Lion to climb the all-time Penn State charts in the women's shot put.
After tallying a 15-foot personal-best toss in the discus yesterday, freshman Obeng Marfo (Toronto, Ontario, Canada) recorded a foot and half PR in the women's shot put Sunday. Marfo went onto finish fourth with her mark of 52-6. Her mark Sunday is tied for fifth all-time in school history.
Along with the women's shot put, the Nittany Lion women tallied podium finishes in the 400-meter dash and the triple jump.
After securing the final qualifying spot in the 400-meter dash Saturday, Dynasty McGee (Flint, Mich.) ran to a podium finish Sunday. In the women's 400-meter dash, McGee placed third with her time of 53.59, while Tichina Rhodes (Philadelphia, Pa.) added a point to the Nittany Lion total with her eighth-place finish (54.38).
A day after missing out on a podium finish in the long jump, Dannielle Gibson (Nassau, Bahamas) tallied a third-place finish in the triple jump. Gibson, a sophomore, scored six points for Penn State with her leap of 42-3.50.
In the vertical jumps, Ahmenah Richardson (Philadelphia, Pa.) cleared a height of 5-9.25 in the women's high jump for a sixth-place finish.
The Nittany Lion duo of Tori Gerlach (Perkasie, Pa.) and Elizabeth Chikotas (Hellertown, Pa.) finished fourth and fifth, respectively, in the women's 5,000-meter run. In a highly competitive field, the duo held their own to record top-five finishes. In the race, Gerlach finished fourth with a time of 16:19.89, while the freshman, Chikotas, clocked in at 16:28.92 for a fifth-place finish. On Saturday, Gerlach ran to a second-place finish in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase.
The Nittany Lions ended the meet with a sixth-place finish in the women's 4x400-meter relay. The quartet of Deja Davis (Shelby Charter Township, Mich.), Rhodes, Shelley Black (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.) and McGee posted a time of 3:39.58.
"We had some really great performances today," Gondak said. "To watch Tichina fight in the 400 and to watch the women's shot put today, the future is really bright for this program."
Women's Final Standings
1. Michigan St. - 128
2. Nebraska - 97
3. Minnesota - 93
4. Ohio State - 87
5. Michigan - 80
6. Purdue - 67.5
7. Penn State - 66
8. Iowa - 52
9. Wisconsin - 46
10. Maryland - 45
11. Illinois - 27.5
12. Indiana - 26
13. Rutgers -- 3
The Big Ten Network will be airing tape-delayed coverage of the 2015 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships Sunday, May 24 at 11 a.m. ET
The Nittany Lions will not compete next weekend as they prepare for the 2015 NCAA East Preliminary Round. The East Preliminary Round is hosted by the University of North Florida at Hodges Stadium in Jacksonville, Fla. (May 28-30)
The top-48 declared student-athletes will be accepted for individual events and for each relay event, the top-24 declared relay teams will be accepted into the East Preliminary Round.
For more on Nittany Lion track & field, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter @PennStateTFXC.