April 18, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Bucknell Classic saw Penn State post a few notable performances at the two-day meet including one that currently sits at No. 2 in the world.
Over the course of the weekend, Penn State recorded 11 marks that are in the top-20 of the Big Ten and two performances that are in the top-five of the NCAA.
What a season debut in her signature event, the steeplechase, for Tori Gerlach who turned in the performance of the weekend as the fifth-year senior crossed the line in an NCAA No. 2 time of 9:50.60.
Gerlach's time is the No. 2 mark in the world this season and also holds as the No. 2 performance ever by a Nittany Lion trailing Bridget Franek's school record mark of 9:32.35 from 2010. The winning time by Gerlach also broke a facility record held by the aforementioned Franek from 2009.
David Lucas finished the meet with a mark of 200'-9" (61.18) in the discus that catapulted Lucas all the way up to the No. 4 performer in the NCAA in the event this year and is ranked No. 2 in the Big Ten.
Lucas achieved the mark on his second attempt improving on his previous personal best of 195'-7" (59.62) from last season. The Lititz, Pa. native qualified for the 2016 NCAA outdoor championships last season finishing as a second-team All-American in the discus as a true freshman.
While a few athletes had NCAA impacting performances several Nittany Lions turned in races that rank very within the Big Ten Conference with the meet less than a month away from being held in Happy Valley.
Morgan Shigo heaved the hammer out to a personal best of 210'-11" (64.28) that is the No. 4 mark in the conference as well as the No. 2 mark in program history. Shigo becomes only the second Nittany Lion to throw 210' or more in program history trailing only school record holder Alvin Jackson's mark of 218'-6" (66.60).
In the 1,500-meters, Domenic Perretta and Colin Abert ran the No. 11 and No. 15 times in the conference in the event at 3:46.47 and 3:47.21, respectively.
They weren't the only ones to post a Top-20 Big Ten time in the event, Julie Kocjancic ran 4:22.94 in the 1,500-meters that is currently ranked No. 9 in the conference while teammates Marissa Sheva and Jillian Hunsberger ran 4:25.81 and 4:26.43.
Megan Fry is currently the 11th best vaulter in the conference after clearing 12'-7.50" (3.85) in the pole vault. Fry's clearance set a new season best in the event and is No. 8 in program history.
True freshman Kelsey Vieira posted a season best mark in the triple jump with her jump of 39'-1.75" (11.93) that is the 14th-best mark this season in the Big Ten.
Joining Lucas with a big performance in the discus was Penn State's Obeng Marfo who finished theh meet with a best of 162'-6" (49.54) that is the 14th-best in the conference.
In total, Penn State has 66 Big Ten top-20 performances this season, with 33 of them in the top-10 and five performances that lead the conference. For a complete list of Penn State's Big Ten top-20 marks click here.
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