March 9, 2018
RESULTS
COLLEGE STATION, Texas - The opening day of the 2018 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships featured an All-American performance by Penn State's Maddie Holmberg and showcased two other athletes qualifying through to finals slated for tomorrow evening.
Maddie Holmberg opened competition at the championships for Penn State by piecing together an All-American campaign in the women's pentathlon. Holmberg, who entered the NCAA meet as the No. 10 seed with a season-best mark of 4,168-points from the Big Ten Indoor Championships, capped the indoor season with a personal best total of 4,216-points and a seventh-place finish in the competition. Holmberg is the first Nittany Lion since Brittney Howell in 2014 to earn All-American honors in the pentathlon. Holmberg's total moved her into No. 2 all-time at Penn State in the event passing Howell's mark of 4,202 from 2014.
"I'm really proud of her," said multi-events coach Fritz Spence. "I think she competed well for being at the indoor championships for her first time, she composed herself well. We have a lot of room for improvement, she could be a 4,400-point pentathlete, we still have a lot of work to do, but TODAY she came up big and she competed like a champion," Spence finished.
"I'm happy with the way to the pentathlon went yesterday," said Holmberg.
"All of my competitors were amazing athletes and great women and they really did inspire me to work hard for outdoor. I have so much respect for those women. It was a really big roller coaster of emotions yesterday. I think it's really easy to lose composure at a meet of this caliber, but I'm happy with the way I was able to remain consistent through the season and execute in my strong events. I have room for improvement in all my events but I am so happy I was able to represent Penn State and earn an All-American honor. I am very appreciative of all the love and support I received all season," Holmberg continued.
Holmberg's marks at the meet include:
60-meter hurdles - 8.51
High Jump - 1.60m (5'-3.00")
Shot Put -13.73m (45'-0.50")
Long Jump - 6.11m (20'-0.50")
800-meters - 2:21.26
The final three events on the track for Penn State were the prelims of the men's and women's 800-meters and the men's 200-meters.
Isaiah Harris breezed through to the final of the men's 800-meters running a heat-winning time of 1:47.87Q grabbing an auto-q spot by finishing in the top three of his heat.
In the women's 800-meters, Danae Rivers grabbed a spot in tomorrows final by advancing on time as the sophomore finished fifth in her heat to secure the final spot into tomorrow's final. Rivers ran a time of 2:04.75q and will compete in an NCAA indoor final for a second-straight year following last season's appearance and bronze medal performance in the mile.
Freshman Terrance Laird closed out his indoor season with a run of 20.97 in the prelims of the men's 200-meters Friday night at the Gilliam Indoor Track. Laird, a freshman from Coatesville, Pa., set the Penn State program record in a second-place finish at the Big Ten Championships in Geneva, Ohio to secure his spot at the meet. Laird finishes the meet in 12th-place earning second-team All-American honors.
Tomorrow will feature Both Harris and Rivers in action as well as Bryce Williams (triple jump), Morgan Shigo (weight throw) and David Lucas (weight throw) and the men's 4x400-meter relay.
For more on Nittany Lion track & field, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter @PennStateTFXC.