April 13, 2018
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State track & field program is set to compete in two meets this weekend with the majority of the Nittany Lions competing at the Bucknell Classic in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, April 14-15. In addition to the Bucknell Classic, four Nittany Lions will be competing at the Triton Invitational in San Diego, California, on Saturday, April 14.
THE BUCKNELL CLASSIC
The Bucknell Classic is held at the Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania. The meet will start at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 14, and 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 15. Both days will be streamed via FloTrack.org, but viewers must have an account to view the streams.
TRITON INVITATIONAL
A quartet of Nittany Lion throwers are headed to San Diego, California, compete at the Triton Invitational hosted by UC San Diego at Triton Track & Field Stadium on Saturday, April 14. Michael Biddle, David Lucas, Morgan Shigo, and Jon Yohman will represent Penn State on the West Coast.
The throwing events get underway at 12:30 p.m. (EDT) on Saturday, April 14.
LAST TIME OUT
Last weekend, the Nittany Lions competed in a scored meet against Iowa, LSU, and Purdue, at the Battle on the Bayou hosted by LSU. As a team, the Nittany Lion men brought home a first-place finish, while the Nittany Lion women finished fourth.
For Penn State at the Battle on the Bayou, the Nittany Lions captured nine event titles with freshman Owen Wing winning the men's 1,500-meter run (3:49.77) and the men's 5,000-meter run (15:53.49).
Also on the track, sophomore Danae Rivers ran 2:05.45 to capture the women's 800-meter run title - a time that ranks 10th in the nation heading into this weekend - and the men's 4x100-meter relay of Will Henderson, Terrance Laird, Xavier Smith and Malik Moffett ran the No. 5 time in school history (39.91).
In the field, Madison Smith won the women's javelin throw title with her personal best toss of 164-1, which ranks eighth all-time at Penn State. On the men's side, Michael Biddle took home the men's javelin throw crown with a toss of 228-9.
Along with Smith, the duo of Greer Gumbrecht & Katie Jones cracked the Penn State record books as they tied the No. 10 height in school history in the women's pole vault (12-5.50).
IN THE RECORD BOOKS
With three weeks of the 2018 outdoor season complete, Penn State track & field has set nine top-10 performances in school history.
On the men's side, Terrance Laird has posted the No. 2 time in the 200-meter dash (20.41) and he has tied the No. 4 time in the men's 100-meter dash (10.42).
In the men's relays, the quartet of Xavier Smith, Anton Porter, Terrance Laird, and Malik Moffett have run the No. 3 time in the men's 4x100-meter relay twice (39.77 & 39.69). Along with the previous relay, the quartet of Will Henderson, Laird, Smith and Moffett ran the No. 5 performance in school history in the men's 4x100-meter relay (39.91).
On the women's side, Danae Rivers set the school record in the 1,500-meter run (4:10.82), Jillian Hunsberger has run the No. 4 time in the 5,000-meter run (15:55.27), Madison Smith tallied the No. 8 distance in the javelin throw (164-1), and the duo of Greer Gumbrecht & Katie Jones tied the No. 10 mark in the pole vault (12-5.50).
No. 18 IN THE LAND
The Penn State men's track & field program ranks 18th in the nation, according to the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).
In the national rankings, Penn State is the No. 2 Big Ten team as Nebraska checks in at No. 14.
AMONG THE NATION'S BEST
Heading into the weekend, the Nittany Lions have 12 performances that rank in the top-25 between the men's and women's programs.
No. 2 | Danae Rivers | 1,500-meter run | 4:10.82
No. 4 | Terrance Laird | 200-meter dash | 20.41
No. 6 | Isaiah Harris | 800-meter run | 1:47.90
No. 7 | Michael Biddle | javelin throw | 233-7
No. 10 | Danae Rivers | 800-meter run | 2:05.45
No. 11 | Jillian Hunsberger | 5,000-meter run | 15:55.27
No. 14 | Morgan Shigo | hammer throw | 222-2
No. 15 | Malik Moffett | 200-meter dash | 20.66
No. 21 | David Lucas | discus throw | 185-5
No. 21 | Xavier Smith, Anton Porter, Terrance Laird, Malik Moffett | 4x100-meter relay | 39.69
No. 21 | Timothy McGowan | 5,000-meter run | 14:01.80
No. 22 | Madison Smith | javelin throw | 164-1
UP NEXT
Penn State track & field will split squads next weekend for the Bucknell Team Challenge and the Virginia Challenge. The Bucknell Team Challenge takes place on April 21 at the Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium in Lewisburg, Pennsylvania, and the Virginia Challenge is a two-day meet on April 20-21 held at Lannigan Field in Charlottesville, Virginia.