Oct. 8, 2015
2016 Penn State Indoor Track & Field Schedule
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State cross country and track & field head coach John Gondak has announced the 2016 indoor track & field schedule.
Penn State is slated to compete in 10 meets this year, five of which will be held at the Multi-Sport Facility & Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track.
The 2016 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships are scheduled for March 11-12 in Birmingham, Alabama.
"We are thrilled to announce our indoor schedule for the 2016 season," said Gondak. "It is highlighted by five home competitions at the Ashenfelter Indoor Track - one of the best indoor track facilities in the world."
Numerous collegiate and American records have been set at the Ashenfelter III Indoor Track; a few notable record-setting performances that have taken place in the past few years, including the women's 4x200-meter relay, the 500-meter dash and the 1,000-meter run.
The Nittany Lion track & field schedule unofficially starts with the annual Blue-White intrasquad meet at the Ashenfelter III Indoor Track on Dec. 12.
"Our schedule is set up to provide our student-athletes with opportunities to compete against competition that will help prepare them for the championship portion of our season," said Gondak. We have outstanding teams coming to University Park this year to compete in our facility because they recognize our team will provide great competition for them and that the facility is one of the premier indoor tracks in the country."
The Penn State Indoor Relays on Jan. 9 marks the first official meet for the Nittany Lions.
Following the Penn State Indoor Relays, Penn State will host the Nittany Lion Challenge on Jan. 16 followed by a week off before the highly touted Penn State National Invitational (Jan. 29-30).
Last year at the Penn State National Invitational, Darrell Hill won the shot put by throwing 67-3.5, setting a new Penn State indoor record.
Also at the 2015 Penn State National Invitational, Jordan Makins (Perth, Australia), Ryan Brennan (Chester, N.Y.), Brannon Kidder (Lancaster, Ohio), and Robby Creese (Mount Airy, Md.) earned themselves the fastest time in Ashenfelter III Indoor Track facility history, and the No. 1 time in the nation during the 2015 season, in the 4x800 Men's Relay with a time of 7:22.10.
Following the Penn State National Invitational, Penn State continues their home stand with the Sykes & Sabock Challenge Cup (Feb. 5-6) before they gear up for their first meet on the road.
The weekend of Feb. 12, Penn State will travel to both, Staten Island, New York for the Fastrack National Invitational, and Seattle, Wash., to compete in the two day Husky Classic hosted by the University of Washington.
"We are excited to head on the road in February back to Seattle and over to the new Ocean Breeze Complex," said Gondak. "It is important we travel as a team prior to the Big Ten Championships so we can experience being on the road as a program."
Penn State will compete at home one last time on Feb. 20 at the Penn State Tune-Up, before they make their way to Geneva, Ohio, for the Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships.
"The Big Ten Championships will once again be held at the Spire Center which is great for our program because it is close to campus and provides our fans an opportunity to see us compete at Championship time," Gondak added.
The 2016 indoor track & field season comes to a close in Birmingham, Alabama, at the Birmingham CrossPlex, for the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships March 11-12.
For more on Nittany Lion track & field, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter @PennStateTFXC.