July 5, 2016
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - at the halfway point through the 2016 U.S. Track & Field Olympic Trials Penn State has two athletes who have captured spots on Team USA and several more looking to match the feat accomplished by Joe Kovacs and Darrell Hill last week.
The aforementioned Kovacs and Hill secured their spots in the 2016 Rio Olympic Games by finishing second and third, respectively, to become the second and third Penn State alums to make an Olympic team in the men's shot put following C.J. Hunter's back-to-back appearances in the 1996 and 2000 summer games in Atlanta and Sydney.
Monday night featured three Nittany Lions in action as Bridget Franek (Penn State '10) advanced to the finals of the women's steeplechase with her heat winning time of 9:39.93 - a season best - to earn her an automatic qualifying spot in Thursday's final set to run at 10:48 p.m. ET.
Following Franek on the track were Casimir Loxsom and Isaiah Harris in the final of the men's 800-meters.
Harris, a true freshman, finished sixth in a quick 1:46.47 while Loxsom (Penn State '13) finished ninth in a time of 1:49.18.
While Franek will return to the track Thursday, July 7 at 10:48 p.m. ET, there are still several Nittany Lions patiently waiting to make their Olympic Trials debut including Rachel Fatherly (Penn State '16), Brian Leap (Penn State '16), Evonne Britton (Penn State '13), Mahagony Jones (Penn State '13), and Robby Creese (Penn State '15).
Rachel Fatherly, the school record holder in both indoor and outdoor women's shot put, is set to compete on Thursday, July 7 at 2 p.m. ET in the prelims while finals are set to begin at 9:15 p.m. ET later that night.
Brian Leap, the No. 2/No. 3 indoor/outdoor triple jumper in program history, is set to step on the runway at 7:45 p.m. ET on Thursday in the men's triple jump.
Following Leap will be Evonne Britton (Penn State '13) in the 100-meter hurdles at 8:02 p.m. ET.
On Friday July 8th, Mahagony Jones will back into the block for the first round of the women's 200-meters at 6:30 p.m. ET.
The final Penn State athlete to make their debut will be Robby Creese (Penn State '15) on Sunday July 10th at 8:20 p.m., ET in the 1,500-meters.
For more on Nittany Lion track & field, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter @PennStateTFXC.