March 28, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State opened up the 2017 outdoor season this past weekend at the PAC-12/Big Ten Challenge hosted by Arizona State with the Nittany Lions turning in several outstanding performances at Sun Angel Stadium.
Penn State finished second on both the men's and women's side of the meet with the women's team scoring 134 points followed by the men's team score of 114 total points.
The Nittany Lions recorded 19 top-three finishes on the weekend with eight of those efforts being winning performances. Penn State also had a few athletes turned in near school record marks.
The winner at the PAC-12/Big Ten Challenge were:
Men's 4x100-meter relay - Kowalchuk, Chisena, Smith, Moffett (39.65) No. 2 in program history
Xavier Smith - 100-meters (10.47) T-No. 4 in program history
Keianna Albury - 100-meters (11.65) No. 6 in program history
Tori Gerlach - 1,500-meters (4:25.63)
Madeline Holmberg - Long Jump (19'-9.75"/6.04m)
Dannielle Gibson - Triple Jump (41'-9.75"/12.74m)
Domenic Perretta - 800-meters (1:49.10)
Michael Shuey - Javelin (247'-2"/75.34m)
Three of the performances this past week moved into the All-Time top-10 outdoor list, with the men's sprint relay finishing just two one-hundredths of a second off the school record of 39.63 set back in 1975.
Michael Shuey, who returned to the javelin run way after missing the 2016 outdoor season, picked up right where he left off as he concluded the meet with a mark of 247'2" that fell just two feet away from his school record mark of 249'-5" (76.02) from 2014.
In the men's triple jump Bryce Williams took silver with his mark of 50'-8" (15.44m) that stands as the No. 9 mark in program history.
Xavier Smith, who ran as the third-leg of the men's 4x100-meter relay earlier in the meet, returned to run 10.47 in the open sprint moving himself into a tie for the No. 4 time in school history.
In the women's 100-meters Keianna Albury also moved up the list planting herself at the No. 6 spot with her run of 11.65 seconds.
The final Top-10 performance of the weekend came from Obeng Marfo as she launched the hammer 183'-6" (55.94m) to grab the No. 8 mark in program history.
Penn State currently boast 10 marks in the top-20 of the NCAA with Michael Shuey's javelin performance currently sitting as the No. 2 performance in the country this season.
For more on Nittany Lion track & field, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter @PennStateTFXC.