April 30, 2017
RESULTS
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. - In a weekend that saw 108,912 spectators over three days take in one of the biggest meets in the nation, the 123rd Penn relays came to a close Saturday night as the Nittany Lions competed in eight relay finals as well as a variety of field events.
Matt Nawrocki got things going early for the Nittany Lions as he finished the day with a personal best mark of 200'-11" (61.24m) to take eighth-place in the College men's javelin throw, while Michael Shuey, Michael Biddle and Ryan Kerr finished 2-3-4 in the Championship section of the javelin throw. Shuey led the way finishing with a school record mark of 250'-1" (76.25m) improving upon the old mark of 249-5 (76.02) from 2014. Biddle at 232'-4" (70.82m) and Kerr at 227'-1" (69.22m) both set personal best marks with their performances and are currently the No. 6 and No. 11 marks in program history.
David Lucas posted a personal best performance in the men's discus on the opening throw of competition with his mark of 201'-6" (61.43m) that is the third-best mark in the event in school history.
Morgan Shigo finished the hammer throw with a best of 214'-2" (65.28m), finishing fourth in the championship section. In the college section, Kory Decesaris grabbed the win with a huge personal best of 203'-10" (62.13m), adding over five feet from his previous best from 2015. Decesaris' mark is the fourth-best in program history. Lucas, who threw in the same section as Decesaris finished with a best of 193'-10" (59.09m) for fourth-place.
Megan McCloskey grabbed bronze in the College Women's High Jump clearing 5'-10" (1.78m) in the event with three good looks at her personal best of 5'-11.50" (1.82m) before bowing out of the competition.
Bryce Williams made the most of every jump finishing third in the championship section of the men's triple jump with a personal best of 52'-0" (15.85m) that was achieved on the final jump of the competition. Williams' mark moves him up the all-time top-10 list from No. 9 to No. 6.
The men's 4xMile posted a season best time of 16:37.70 behind the efforts of Timothy McGowan (4:06.9), Jaxson Hoey (4:07.2), Bobby Hill (4:10.7) and Colin Abert (4:11.9) finishing seventh.
A school record performance (39.48) from Karson Kowalchuk, Dan Chisena, Xavier Smith and Malik Moffett led to a fourth-place finish in the championship section of the men's 4x100-meter relay, shaving off one one-hundredth of a second from the old school record pace of 39.49. This Nittany Lion lineup has produced three sub-40 second performances which is more than were on the record books prior to the arrival of second-year sprints coach Erin Tucker in the summer of 2015.
In the championship section of the women's 4x200-meter relay, Penn State finished fourth in 1:35.59 as Quenee Dale, Keianna Albury, Kiara Lester and Madeline Holmberg carried the stick for the Nittany Lions. The relay time holds as the No. 6 time in program history.
The championship section of the men's 4x200-meters saw Kowalchuk, Smith, Moffett and Porter finish fifth in 1:23.93, the No. 4 time in program history.
It came down to the wire in the championship section of the women's 4x800-meter relay as Tori Gerlach (2:07.12), Julie Kocjancic (2:06.64), Rachel Banks (2:07.08) and Danae Rivers (2:04.66) combined to run 8:25.49 absolutely eviscerating the old school record of 8:38.17 set earlier this season. The quartet finished to only Villanova who won their Penn Relays record 12th title in the event.
The men's 4x800-meter relay found silver in the championship section of the event just as the women did with their time of 7:20.54 behind the legs of Billy McDevitt (1:51.20), Jordan Makins (1:48.37), Domenic Perretta (1:49.23), Isaiah Harris (1:51.75).
Kiara Lester, Tichina Rhodes, Deja Davis and Danae Rivers - who anchored the relay with a time of 53.78 - combined to run a season best time of 3:37.59 for second-place.
Penn State closed out the meet with a 3:05.69 showing from the men's 4x400-meter relay in the championship section of the event run by Dan Chisena (47.4), Xavier Smith (45.8), Tyreek Mathis (46.64) and Isaiah Harris who closed in 45.80 for the Nittany Lions. The relay time is the third-fastest in Penn State history.
Penn State host the annual Jim Thorpe Invite May 5 at the Nittany Lion Outdoor Track with action slated to begin at 2 p.m.
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