Jan. 6, 2016
- Full USTFCCCA Release
NEW ORLEANS, LA. - The Penn State men's track & field team enters the 2016 indoor track & field season ranked No. 21 in the Preseason National Computer Rankings, as released Wednesday afternoon by the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
"We are excited to start the season in the top-25 again this year coming off a year where we finished 12th indoors and 10th at the outdoor championships," said head coach John Gondak. "While we graduated some of our top athletes from last season, I think we have some young athletes who can be significant contributors and help us move up in the rankings through the season."
During the 2015 indoor season, the Penn State men's team posted three first-team All-American finishes at the NCAA Indoor championships in Fayetteville, Ark.
The Penn State men were highlighted at the championships by a runner-up finish in the distance medley relay. The quartet of Brandon Kidder, Alex Shisler, Za'Von Watkins and Robby Creese clocked in at 9:32.21 to finish second.
For Creese, Kidder and Watkins it is their second career first team All-America finish in the distance medley relay, as they finished second at the 2013 NCAA meet.
Kidder also finished seventh in the men's mile with his time of 4:04.48. His seventh-place finish in the men's mile Saturday is the highest Nittany Lion finish since Ryan Foster took third in 2011.
In the field, Darrell Hill (Philadelphia, Pa.) finished fourth (64-8) in the men's shot put. With his fourth-place finish, Hill becomes the fourth Nittany Lion to finish fourth or higher at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the men's shot put and he also recorded the highest finish in the shot put since Joe Kovacs placed third in 2010.
Both Nittany Lion track & field teams begin the 2016 indoor track & field season at home Saturday with the Penn State Relays. The action is slated for a 10 a.m. start at the Ashenfelter III Indoor Track.
The Penn State Relays will be streamed live on Flotrack.org, users must have a FloPro account to access the video.
For more on Nittany Lion track & field, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter @PennStateTFXC.