June 8, 2015
NCAA Championships Meet Info | Schedule | Live Results | 2015 Outdoor Performance List | NCAA Notes
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Eight Nittany Lions will be representing Penn State track & field this week as they travel to the 2015 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships, June 10-13 at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. The meet will be broadcasted live on the ESPN family of networks.
NITTANY LION INFO
The Nittany Lion men are ranked 15th by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Under first-year head coach John Gondak, the Nittany Lion men have been ranked in the top-15 all year, including tying the highest ranking in school history (11th).
Glen Burkhardt, Robby Creese, Darrell Hill, Brannon Kidder and Steve Waithe will be representing the Nittany Lion men, while Elizabeth Chikotas, Rachel Fatherly and Tori Gerlach will compete for the Penn State women. Gerlach is slated to compete in both the 3,000-meter steeplechase and the 5,000-meter run.
Six Nittany Lions will be making their return to an NCAA Championship meet, while Burkhardt and Chikotas will be making their NCAA Championship meet debut.
Between the eight Nittany Lions competing in Eugene, Ore., they have set 10 top-10 all-time outdoor performances in school history, including eight performances during the 2015 season.
SEEDS (based off NCAA Preliminary Round performances)
Burkhardt - 19th (10,000)
Chikotas - 22nd (5,000)
Creese - 20th (1,500)
Fatherly - 3rd (shot put)
Gerlach - 7th (3,000-meter steeplechase), 11th (5,000)
Hill - 1st (shot put)
Kidder - 11th (800)
Waithe - 17th (triple jump)
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (PDT)
Wednesday -
4:14 p.m. - Men's 1,500-meter run semifinals - Robby Creese
5:30 p.m. - Men's shot put finals - Darrell Hill
5:54 p.m. - Men's 800-meter run semifinals - Brannon Kidder
6:43 p.m. - Men's 10,000-meter run finals - Glen Burkhardt
Thursday -
4:38 p.m. - Women's 3,000-meter run semifinals - Tori Gerlach
5:40 p.m. - Women's shot put finals - Rachel Fatherly
Friday -
4:30 p.m. - Men's triple jump finals - Steve Waithe
4:45 p.m. - Men's 1,500-meter run finals - Qualifiers
5:50 p.m. - Men's 800-meter run finals - Qualifiers
Saturday -
2:27 p.m. - Women's 3,000-meter steeplechase finals - Qualifiers
4:00 p.m. - Women's 5,000-meter run finals - Elizabeth Chikotas, Tori Gerlach
ESPN SCHEDULE (EDT)
Wednesday - ESPN3 Starting at 2 p.m./ESPNU 7-10:30 p.m.
Thursday - ESPN3 Starting at 1 p.m./ESPNU 7-8:30 p.m./ESPN 8:30-10:30 p.m.
Friday - ESPN3 Starting at 7 p.m./ESPN 7:30-10 p.m.
Saturday - ESPN3 Starting at 4:30 p.m./ESPN2 5-7:30p.m.
LAST TIME OUT - NCAA FIRST ROUND
DAY ONE
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- On the opening day of the NCAA East Preliminary Round, a pair of Nittany Lions advanced to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Glen Burkhardt (Kennett Square, Pa.) closed out the day with a heart-stopping performance in the 10,000-meter run, while Rachel Fatherly (Williamsport, Pa.) placed second in the women's shot put.
Two weeks ago at the Big Ten Championships, Burkhardt competed in his first-ever 10,000-meter run on the track and posted a fourth-place finish. With a trip to Eugene on the line, Burkhardt recorded a finish he will never forget.
Heading down the final homestretch, Burkhardt was ready to post a top-five finish, but with 30 meters to go he tumbled to the ground. Burkhardt, the 2015 Penn State True Grit award winner, picked himself up, took a few steps and stumbled back to the ground and crawled across the finish line for an eighth-place finish (30 minutes, 6.30 seconds).
After tallying a 15th-place finish last year in the shot put at the NCAA East Preliminarily Round, Fatherly advanced to her first NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships meet.
Fatherly, a junior, tallied a mark of 55 feet, 9.75 inches on her third and final attempt en route to a second-place finish. Her mark Thursday is the second-best of her career, only to her school record mark of 56-3.25.
DAY TWO
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- A pair of Nittany Lions advanced on to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships. Juniors Tori Gerlach (Perkasie, Pa.) and Brannon Kidder (Lancaster, Ohio) punched their tickets to Eugene, Ore., Friday on day two of the NCAA East Preliminary Round at Hodges Stadium.
Throughout the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase Gerlach was in position to qualify for the NCAA Championships. With less than three laps left and Leah O'Connor pulling away, Gerlach and Eastern Michigan's Sofie Gallein battled to remain in the top-three.
Despite a late charge from Georgia's Bret McDaniel with two laps remaining, Gerlach secured an automatic berth with her third-place finish (9 minutes, 53.98 seconds). Her time Friday is a personal-best performance and remains the No. 2 time in school history.
Last year at the NCAA East Preliminary Round at Hodges Stadium, Gerlach qualified for the NCAA Championships with her then-personal-best-time of 10:03.55.
Advancing to his third-straight NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Kidder has moved on to the semifinals in the 800-meter run.
Friday evening, Kidder posted a third-place finish (1:47.38) in heat two of the men's 800-meter run to automatically advance to Eugene, Ore.
Last year, Kidder advanced to the NCAA Championships in the 1,500-meter run and in 2013 he qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 800-meter run. At the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Casimir Loxsom and Kidder finished second and third overall in the 800-meter run.
DAY THREE
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- The Penn State track & field team closed out the NCAA East Preliminary Round Saturday with five Nittany Lions advancing on to the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships Saturday at Hodges Stadium. Tori Gerlach (Perkasie, Pa.) advanced to the NCAA Championships in her second event of the weekend.
Elizabeth Chikotas (Hellertown, Pa.), Robby Creese (Mount Airy, Md.) and Gerlach advanced to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships on the track, while Darrell Hill (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Steve Waithe (Parkville, Md.) advanced in the field.
Seniors Hill and Waithe head back to Eugene, Ore., for a second-straight year following their performances Saturday.
Heading into the competition, Hill ranked second in the country (Crouser -- Texas) and was the top seed in the field. Three throws separated Hill and a chance at returning to the NCAA Championships.
Hill opened up the event with a toss of 59 feet, 3 inches, which had him on the outside looking in. On his second attempt, he punched his ticket with an event-leading toss of 66-8.5. His mark of 66-8.5 held as the top spot in the field.
Last year in his first NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships appearance, Hill finished 15th in the shot put with his is toss of 62-9.50.
After a tallying a fifth-place in the triple jump at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Waithe is heading back to Eugene, Ore. On his first attempt of the evening, Waithe posted a distance of 51-4.5, which held as the ninth-best qualifying mark. Heading into the event, Waithe was seeded eleventh in the field.
On the track, a trio of Nittany Lions, including a pair of runners in the 5,000-meter run, punched their tickets Saturday. Both Gerlach and Chikotas posted fourth-place finishes in their respective heats to automatically advance to the NCAA meet.
A night after punching her ticket in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a personal-best performance, Gerlach went back to the track for the 5,000-meter run.
In the first heat, Emily Sisson (Providence) and Kate Avery (Iona) broke away from the field leaving the final three automatic spots up for grabs. Midway through the race, Michigan State's Rachele Schulist put a four second lead on a pack of five runners fighting for the final two automatic spots.
With a strong final two laps from Gerlach, the Penn State junior clocked-in for a personal-best 15 minutes, 58.79 seconds en route to a fourth-place finish. Gerlach became the fourth Nittany Lion to break the 16-minute barrier. Earlier this year at the Big Ten Championships, Gerlach posted a then-outdoor personal-best time of 16:19.89.
Following Gerlach's record book performance in the first heat, it was the Chikotas' turn to take to the track in heat two.
Like in the first heat, a pair of runners broke away early in the race. Within the first few laps, Erin Finn (Michigan) and Liv Westphal (Boston College) broke away from the pack setting up 21 runners fighting for the other three automatic qualifying spots.
Chikotas, along with a pack of seven runners were separated within a second of each other for the majority of the race. The pack remained strong as with three laps remaining, Chikotas continued to run five other runners battling for an automatic spot in Eugene, Ore.
With two laps remaining, Chikotas made her move separating herself from the pack. North Carolina's Annie LeHardy caught Chikotas on the final lap, but they both moved on to the next round in two weeks. Chikotas placed fourth overall in the race with her time of 16:09.26.
Despite being near the front of the pack for the majority of the men's 1,500-meter run, Creese advanced on to Eugene, Ore. based on his qualifying time. The top-seven finishers in the heat two of the men's 1,500-meter run finished within one second of each other. Creese finished seventh in heat two with his time of 3:45.30.
Also on the track, senior Sancho Barrett (Amityville, N.Y.) finished out his Penn State career Saturday, as he finished 16th in the quarterfinals of the men's 110-meter hurdles (13.94). Barrett ends his career tied for third all-time in the Penn State record books with his time of 13.80.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS
During the 2015 outdoor season, the Nittany Lions have recorded 25 top-10 all-time performances in the Penn State record books, including Rachel Fatherly's school record mark of 56-3.25 in the women's shot put.
Brannon Kidder (800-meter run, 1:45.58), Tori Gerlach (3,000-meter steeplechase, 9:53.98) Darrell Hill (shot put, 68-5.25) and Ahmenah Richardson (high jump, 5-11.25) have all posted the No. 2 all-time performances in their respective events this outdoor season.
ACADEMIC ALL-DISTRICT
Senior Robby Creese (Mount Airy, Md.) has been named to the Capital One Academic District II Men's Track & Field/Cross Country First Team, as announced by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Friday afternoon (May 14).
Creese, a double major in mathematics and economics, has had great success in the classroom, on the track and on the cross country course as a Nittany Lion. In December, Creese completed his undergraduate work with a 3.69 grade point average.
This past spring semester, Creese posted a 3.89 GPA in his first semester as a graduate student and he will graduate from Penn State in the spring of 2016 with a graduate degree.
During his senior year of indoor track, Creese won two Big Ten titles (mile and 3,000-meter run), set the school record in the 3,000-meter run (7:50.36) and anchored a runner-up finish in the distance medley relay at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. He also holds the school record in the 1,000-meter run (2:19.53 - 2012) and the mile run (3:57.11 - 2013).
B1G HONORS
MAY 13
Senior Penn State track & field student-athletes Sancho Barrett (Amityville, N.Y.) and Darrell Hill (Philadelphia, Pa.) have both garnered Big Ten Athlete of Week honors, as announced by the conference office Wednesday afternoon. Barrett picked up the Big Ten Men's Track Athlete of the Week honor, while Hill was tabbed as the Big Ten Men's Co-Field Athlete of the Week.
This is the first career award for Barrett, while Hill earns the award for the third time in his career. Hill also received the award on April 29 for his performance at the Penn Relays.
This past weekend at the Jim Thorpe Invite, both Barrett and Hill tallied lifetime-best performances en route to first-place finishes.
In the men's 110-meter hurdles, Barrett finished first with his time of 13.80 seconds. His time Friday moved him from 10th all-time in the Penn State record books to a tie for third all-time (Timpson -- 1988).
Also at the Jim Thorpe Invite, Hill continued his stellar senior season with another personal-best performance in the men's shot put. In the event, Hill improved his No. 2 spot in the Penn State record books with his throw of 68 feet, 5.25 inches.
MAY 6
After posting the NCAA-leading time in the 800-meter run this past weekend, junior Brannon Kidder (Lancaster, Ohio) has been named the Big Ten Men's Track Athlete of the Week, as announced by the conference office Wednesday afternoon (May 6). This is the fourth career award for Kidder.
At the Payton Jordan Invitational (May 2), Kidder placed second in the 800-meter run with his personal-best time of 1:45.58. With his time Saturday, he currently has the top performance in the NCAA this season and he ranks second all-time in the Penn State record books (Loxsom, 1:45.28, 2011).
APRIL 29
Senior Darrell Hill (Philadelphia, Pa.) has been named the Big Ten Men's Co-Field Athlete of the Week, as announced by the conference Wednesday afternoon (April 29). This is the second career award for Hill.
This past weekend at the Penn Relays, Hill defended his 2014 Penn Relays shot put title with a lifetime-best mark of 68-2.5. His toss is the No. 2 all-time mark at Penn State, the No. 3 all-time performance at the Penn Relays and the No. 2 distance this outdoor season in the NCAA.
APRIL 15
Junior Robby Creese (Mount Airy, Md.) has been named the Big Ten Men's Track Athlete of the Week, as announced by the conference office Wednesday afternoon (April 15). This is the third career award for Creese.
At the Bucknell Classic, Creese won the men's 1,500-meter run with his time of 3:41.74. Earlier this season at the Florida Relays, he finished 11th in the men's 800-meter run with his personal-best time of 1:48.54.
APRIL 8
Following his performance at the season-opening Florida Relays, junior Brannon Kidder (Lancaster, Ohio) has been named the Big Ten Men's Track Athlete of the Week, as announced by the conference office Wednesday afternoon (April 8). This is the third career award for Kidder.
At the Florida Relays, Kidder finished third in the men's 800-meter run with his time of 1:47.14 and he also ran the second-leg of the second-place 4x800-meter relay (7:22.22).
In the men's 800-meter run, Kidder ranks sixth in the NCAA and he has the top time in the Big Ten. His time is also the fastest since his freshman year when he finished third at the 2013 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships.
IN THE RANKINGS
Six Nittany Lions currently rank in the top-25 in the NCAA in their respective events.
On the track, Robby Creese (Mount Airy, Md.) is second in the men's 1,500-meter run (3:39.02), Tori Gerlach (Perkasie, Pa.) ranks 10th in the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:53.98) and Brannon Kidder is first in the men's 800-meter run (1:45.58).
In the field, Rachel Fatherly (Williamsport, Pa.) is 11th in the women's shot put (56-3.25), Darrell Hill (Philadelphia, Pa.) ranks second in the men's shot put (68-5.25), and Steve Waithe (Parkville, Md.) ranks 14th in the men's triple jump with his wind-legal mark of 52-6.
NO. 15 IN THE LAND
The Penn State men's track & field team heads into the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track & Field Championships ranked No. 15 in the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Computer Rankings.
On the track, Brannon Kidder (Lancaster, Ohio) leads the NCAA in the 800-meter run (1:45.58), while Robby Creese (Mount Airy, Md.) is second in the 1,500-meter run (3:39.02) and Glen Burkhardt (Kennett Square, Pa.) ranks 21st in the 10,000-meter run (29:31.42).
All-time at Penn State, Kidder ranks second in the 800-meter run and Creese has the third-best 1,500-meter run performance.
Senior Darrell Hill (Philadelphia, Pa.) currently has the second-best mark in the shot put (68-5.25) and Steve Waithe (Parkville, Md.) ranks 16th in the triple jump with his leap of 52-8.25.
Last year at the 2014 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, Kidder finished 12th in the 1,500-meter run (3:44.30), Hill placed 15th in the shot put (62-9.50) and Waithe finished fifth (52-11.50) in the triple jump.
WRAPPING UP INDOOR
With the indoor season in the books, the Nittany Lions recorded 14 top-five school record performances, including a pair of school records.
At the Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships, Penn State captured six Big Ten titles en route to a third-place finish by the women and a fourth-place finish by the men.
Nationally, nine Penn State student-athletes recorded first team All-America finishes and the Penn State men tallied a 12th-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. The NCAA meet was highlighted for Penn State by a runner-up finish in the men's distance medley relay by Brannon Kidder (Lancaster, Ohio), Alex Shisler (State College, Pa.), Za'Von Watkins (Liverpool, N.Y.) and Robby Creese (Mount Airy, Md.).
ROAD WARRIORS
The Nittany Lions are scheduled to compete in seven meets in five states before they return to Happy Valley for the Jim Thorpe Invite (May 8). Following the Jim Thorpe Invite, Penn state will travel to East Lansing, Mich. (Big Ten Outdoor Championships), Jacksonville, Fla. (NCAA First Round) and Eugene, Ore. (NCAA Outdoor Championships)
ALBURY, PORTER SIGN WITH PENN STATE
Head coach and director of Penn State cross country and track & field John Gondak has announced the signing of Keianna Albury and Anton Porter. Albury and Porter will enroll in classes starting this fall.
Albury is currently finishing her senior year of high school at St. Augustine's College in Nassau, Bahamas, while Porter is wrapping up his senior year at Mount Saint Michael Academy in the Bronx, N.Y. Albury and Porter both come to Penn State with great success during their time in high school.
Albury is a two-time (2012-13) winner of the Bahamas Association of Athletic Associations Most Outstanding Youth award and she also was named the Anita Doherty Junior Female Track Athlete of the Year in 2014.
At the 2014 Central American and Caribbean Junior Championships, Albury finished third in the 100, won the 200 and ran on the third-place 4x100-meter relay.
While competing for Mount Saint Michael Academy, Porter recorded numerous Catholic High School Athletic Association (CSHAA) first-place finishes and he currently holds the CSHAA record in the 100 and 300. He was also brought home All-State honors and was named MVP three years in a row.
TWELVE SIGN EARLY
Twelve new student-athletes signed their National Letter of Intent during the week-long early signing period in November. Colin Abert (Easton, Pa.), Devin Bradham (Williamstown, N.J.), Frances Bull (Mentor, Ohio), Isaiah Harris (Lewiston, Maine), Maddie Holmberg (Greensburg, Pa.), Peter Hughey (Chambersburg, Pa.), David Lucas (Lititz, Pa.), David Marrington (Langhorne, Pa.), Sam Reiser (St Kilda, Aus.), Sarah Stanley (South Park, Pa.), Abby Stultz (Frederick, Md.) and Grace Trucilla (Erie, Pa.) have signed a National Letter of Intent and will attend Penn State this fall.
NEXT TIME OUT
The USA Junior/Senior Track & Field Championships are next up on the schedule for the Nittany Lions. The Nittany Lions with qualifying performances will travel back to Hayward Field for the USA Junior/Senior Track & Field Championships, June 25-28.
For more on Nittany Lion track & field, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter @PennStateTFXC.