May 24, 2018
TAMPA, Fla. - The Penn State track & field program opened up day one of the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field East Preliminary Round on Thursday with three Nittany Lions advancing to 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon.
The Blue & White began the day with Morgan Shigo (Blandon, Pa.) coming up clutch on his final attempt in the men's hammer throw. With one attempt left, and in 16th-place, Shigo recorded a mark of 223 feet, 11 inches to move into 10th and clinch a trip to Oregon.
Along with Shigo in the men's hammer throw, David Lucas (Lititz, Pa.) rattled off a pair of personal-best throws in the second flight to finish 19th overall. On his first attempt, Lucas went 211-0 and then posted a mark of 212-6 before fouling his third attempt. Both of his performances on the day improved his No. 3 spot all-time in school history.
In the women's throws, Steph Sievers (Douglassville, Pa.) locked up a spot in Eugene in the women's javelin throw with her 10th-place finish (159-11).
After finishing 15th in the women's high jump last year at the 2017 NCAA East Prelims, senior Megan McCloskey (Lower Gwynedd, Pa.) will continue her time as a Nittany Lion with a trip to the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships. On Thursday, McCloskey cleared a season-best height of 5-10.75 on her second attempt to finish in the top-12 and move on to Oregon.
On the track, Isaiah Harris (Lewiston, Maine) and Danae Rivers (Derby, Conn.) advanced to the quarterfinal round of their respective events. For Harris, he placed second in the third heat of the men's 800-meter run (1:48.96) to auto qualify for Friday's quarterfinal at 2 p.m. In the women's 1,500-meter run, Rivers placed third (4:17.32) in the first heat to advance to the quarterfinal on Saturday at 1:15 p.m.
Though she didn't qualify for the quarterfinal round of the women's 400-meter hurdles, senior Rachael DeCecco (Mechanicsburg, Pa.) capped off her Nittany Lion career with a personal-best time of 59.36 to finish 30th.
Action continues for Penn State track & field at the USF Track & Field Stadium on Friday, May 25, at 8:45 a.m.