Oct. 4, 2017
LINKS TO VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS FROM 2017
Big Ten Outdoor Championships
University Park, Pa.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
NCAA East First-Round
Lexington, Ky.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
NCAA Outdoor Championships
Eugene, Ore.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
Day 4
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Penn State cross country and track & field head coach John Gondak announced the 2018 indoor and outdoor track & field schedule Wednesday afternoon.
During indoor season, the Nittany Lions are set to compete in 11 meets this year, five of which will be held at the Multi-Sport Facility & Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track.
The 2018 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships are scheduled for March 9-10 in College Station, TX hosted by Texas A&M University.
"One of the main reasons for our success last year at the Big Ten/NCAA Championships was the challenging schedule we had for our program. Our schedule in 2018 once again will help prepare Penn State Track & Field for championship time as we look to continue the historic success we had last year," said head coach John Gondak.
Over the years numerous collegiate and American records have been set at the Ashenfelter III Indoor Track. A few notable record-setting performances that took place last year include, the women's DMR that clocked a school record 11:01.16 that was No. 7 in the NCAA at the time, freshman phenom Danae Rivers setting school records in both the 600-meters and Mile, and a new world record in the men's 600-meters from former Penn Stater Casimir Loxsom who blazed the track recording a time of 1:14.91 while sophomore All-American Isaiah Harris set the collegiate record - the second-fastest time ever trailing only Loxsom - with his time of 1:14.96 to name a few.
The Nittany Lion track & field schedule unofficially starts with the annual Blue-White intrasquad meet at the Ashenfelter III Indoor Track on Dec. 9.
"The indoor season will have two travel weekends for us to a variety of outstanding competitions across the country," Gondak continued. "We will also continue to host some of the best teams in the NCAA here in State College on what is one of the best track facilities in the world."
The Nittany Lion Challenge on Jan. 13 marks the first official meet for Penn State.
Following the Nittany Lion Challenge, Penn State will hit the road to take part in the Clemson Invitational in Clemson, SC hosted by Clemson University.
Following the trip to South Carolina, the Nittany Lions will host the nationally acclaimed Penn State National Open (Jan. 26-27) that is the premiere meet in the nation year in and year out during the final week of January.
Following the Penn State National, the Lions continue their home stand with the Sykes & Sabock Challenge Cup (Feb. 2-3) before they gear up for their second weekend on the road in 2018.
The weekend of Feb. 9-10, Penn State will split between, Geneva, Ohio for the Spire Invitational, Seattle, Wash., to compete in the Husky Classic hosted by the University of Washington and the Iowa State Classic in Ames, Iowa.
Penn State will compete at home one last time on Feb. 17 at the Penn State Tune-Up, before they make their way to Geneva, Ohio, for the Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships.
The 2018 indoor track & field season comes to a close in College Station, TX, at the Gilliam Indoor Track Stadium, for the NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships March 9-10.
"Our outdoor schedule makes sure we provide our team opportunities to advance to the postseason by traveling to great competitions where we know we will have the type of weather we need to be successful," Gondak added.
Penn State will open the 2018 outdoor season in the same way they opened 2017 when they visit Tempe, Ariz. to take part in the Pac-12/Big Ten two-day challenge for a third-consecutive season.
The Nittany Lions will split squads the following weekend as they travel to the Florida Relays (Gainesville, Fla.) and to the Stanford Invite (Palo Alto, Calif.) on March 30-31.
During April, Penn State will compete at the Battle on the Bayou (April 7), the Bucknell Classic (April 14-15), the Virginia Challenge (April 20-21), Bucknell (April 21), and the prestigious Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Pa., April 26-28.
The Nittany Lions return to University Park for their lone home meet of the season, the Jim Thorpe Invite (May 4), before the championship portion of the outdoor season begins.
The Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships will be hosted by Indiana University in Bloomington, IN May 11-13.
The NCAA postseason begins with the NCAA East First-Round (May 24-26) in Tampa, Fla., while the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by the University of Oregon at Hayward Field in Eugene, Ore. are slated to be held June 6-9.
The year concludes for the Nittany Lions at the USA Junior and Senior Championships at a site TBD, June 21-24.
The Penn State track & field team begins their season Dec. 9, 2017 at the Ashenfelter III Indoor Track as they host the annual Blue-White Intrasquad meet.
For more on Nittany Lion track & field, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter @PennStateTFXC.