June 22, 2018
DES MOINES, Iowa - Day two of the USATF Championships saw three current Nittany Lions and one alumna in action Friday at Drake Stadium. The day was highlighted by a sixth-place finish in the men's hammer throw from Morgan Shigo (Blandon, Pa.).
Shigo, a junior, tallied the second-best competition mark of his career (235-4) on his sixth, and final, attempt to move from seventh to sixth. Earlier this month, Shigo placed sixth at the NCAA Championships in the men's hammer throw with his school record mark of 237-9.
"I think the meet well, this was my second USA Championships," Shigo said. "At my first meet I finished 11th, so this was a big improvement from last year. I was seventh going into my last throw and I went over a meter farther than my best throw of the day. That was pretty big for me, knowing that I can throw far in the later rounds. Overall, it was a well-above average day.
"I am completely happy with my junior season, going over 72-meters, becoming an All-American," Shigo added. "I don't think I could have asked for a better junior season and I can't wait to take some of this momentum into next year and just keep it rolling."
On the track, junior Isaiah Harris (Lewiston, Maine) punched his ticket back to the final of the men's 800-meter run. With the top-four from each of the two heats advancing to the final on Sunday, June 24, at 4:13 p.m. (EDT), Harris won the second heat in 1:47.07. Last year at the 2017 USATF Championships, Harris finished second with a personal-best time of 1:44.53.
In the semifinals of the women's 800-meter run, sophomore Danae Rivers (Derby, Conn.) finished 13th with her season-best time of 2:02.88. Rivers' time on Friday was .35 shy of tying her school record time from 2017 (2:02.53).
During the year in 2018, Rivers won two Big Ten titles (indoor 800-meter run & 1,500-meter run), recorded two First Team All-America finishes (indoor 800-meter run & 1,500-meter run) and swept the USTFCCCA honors for Mid-Atlantic Region Women's Track Athlete of the Year for indoor and outdoor track.
Nittany Lion alumna Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas) of Evo TC advanced on time in the women's 100-meter hurdles with her time of 12.99. Britton will compete in the semifinal round on Saturday, June 23, at 3:20 p.m. (EDT). The final of the women's 100-meter hurdles takes place on Saturday, June 23, at 5:52 p.m. (EDT)
Saturday features seven Penn Staters in action. Along with Britton on Saturday, Maddie Holmberg (Greensburg, Pa.) begins the heptathlon at 11 a.m. (EDT), Michael Biddle (Williamsburg, Pa) and Michael Shuey (Johnsonburg, Pa.) compete in the men's javelin throw at 3:10 p.m. (EDT), Darrell Hill (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Joe Kovacs (Nazareth, Pa.) take part in the men's shot put at 3:45 p.m. (EDT), and Tori Gerlach (Perkasie, Pa.) will run in the final of the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase at 4:20 p.m. (EDT)