June 21, 2017
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The USATF Championships are next for the Nittany Lions and eight current Penn State athletes will take the first steps in will qualifying for the IAAF World Championships this week as they compete in the USA Track & Field Championships in Sacramento, Calif. June 22-25 at Sacramento State's Hornet Stadium.
Eight current Nittany Lions and a few former Nittany Lion greats are set to compete for the chance to represent Team USA in variety of events.
The 800-meters will feature three athletes with Penn State ties as Isaiah Harris, Domenic Perretta and Casimir Loxsom will toe the line in preliminary action.
Harris is fresh off a second-place finish at the NCAA Championships in Eugene, Ore. just a short few weeks ago. Harris enters the USATF meet holding a school record and personal best of 1:45.12 set earlier this season at the Virginia Challenge.
Teammate Domenic Perretta, fresh off his first season in the Blue & White enters the meet holding a personal best of 1:47.29. The freshman from Beaver Falls, Pa. finished his first season at Penn State with a trip to the NCAA Championships in the same event.
The third member of the 800-meter group for Penn State will be alum Casimir Loxsom, who wrapped up his career in the Blue & White in 2013, enters the meet with a mark of 1:45.93.
Recently wrapping up his career in the in Blue & White, 2016 graduate Brannon Kidder will step on the track for the prelims of the 1,500-meters sporting a season best of 3:38.79. Tori Gerlach is set to compete in the 3,000-meter steeplechase following a season that saw the senior from Perkasie, Pa. run the second-fastest time in the event in program history trailing only Bridget Franek's run in 2010.Gerlach posted a time of 9:46.76 at the NCAA Championships a few weeks ago finishing third to conclude her collegiate career.
The shot put, just as the 800-meters, will feature three athletes with Penn State ties - all alums. Joe Kovacs, Darrell Hill and Rachel Fatherly will compete in the shot put entering the meet with marks of 74'-0.75" (22.57m), 71'-10.75" (21.91m) and 58'-3" (17.75m), respectively. Kovacs and Hill enter the meet ranked No. 1 and No. 3 in the event.
Malik Moffett will compete in two events at the USATF Championships after qualifying in both the 200-meters and the long jump. Moffett set the school record in the long jump earlier this season with his mark of 26'-3" (8.00m) while also posting the No. 1 time in program history under all-conditions in the 200-meters running 19.87W.
Morgan Shigo will compete in the hammer throw entering with a school record mark of 222'-11" (67.94m) while both Michael Shuey (250'-2"/76.25m) and Michael Biddle (235'-7"/71.81m) will step on the runway for competition in the javelin. Shuey and Biddle are ranked No. 1 and No. 4 in Penn State program history in the event.
David Lucas will compete in the discus, an event he is currently ranked No. 3 in program history in with his mark of 201'-6" (61.43m).
Rounding out the entries for Penn State is Evonne Britton in the 100-meter hurdles. Britton finished her career in the Blue & White ranked No. 2 in program history with her best of 13.03 seconds. Britton enters the meet with a best of 12.92 this season.
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