June 23, 2018
DES MOINES, Iowa - Nittany Lion alumnus Darrell Hill (Philadelphia, Pa.) of Nike captured gold in the men's shot put Saturday at the USATF Championships at Drake Stadium.
Hill, a 2015 graduate, went into the final in fifth with his best throw of 67-3.5 on his third attempt. Then on his fourth attempt, he tallied a mark of 70-1 to move into first-place. Hill then bested his previous mark on his fifth-attempt with a distance of 70-9.25, which held for the winning mark.
Along with Hill in the men's shot put, Nittany Lion alumnus Joe Kovacs (Nazareth, Pa.) of Velaasa/New York Athletic Club finished fifth with his mark of 68-0.5.
Nittany Lion junior Maddie Holmberg (Greensburg, Pa.) capped off the opening day of the heptathlon with a personal-best day one score of 3,478 points, as she is currently in seventh heading into Sunday.
Holmberg opened up the day with a season-best time of 13.93 in the 100-meter hurdles to score 988 points. Following the hurdles, she cleared 5-3 in the high jump to tally a score of 736 points.
In the third event of the day, the shot put, Holmberg tallied an outdoor personal-best mark of 45-9 to score 790 points. She then closed out the day with a time of 24.17 in the 200-meter dash to score 964 points. Her performances in the shot put and 200-meter dash were the third-best performances in the field in both events.
"It's an amazing meet to be competing at," Holmberg said. "With a personal-best day one score, I'm happy with my performances, but I know that I still have a lot of room for growth in every event. I'm learning a lot and having a lot of fun also. Being among the best athletes in the country is very humbling and I hope to become a better heptathlete following this experience."
A pair of Penn Staters competed in the men's javelin throw, as Nittany Lion alumnus Michael Shuey (Johnsonburg, Pa.) of Velaasa placed fourth (239-3), while sophomore Michael Biddle (Williamsburg, Pa.) took eighth (230-5).
On the track, a pair of Nittany Lion alumnae finished 10th in their respective events. Tori Gerlach (Perkasie, Pa.) of Reebok clocked in at 10:03.12 in the final of the women's 3,000-meter steeplechase. The semifinals of the women's 100-meter hurdles saw Evonne Britton (El Paso, Texas) of Evo TC run a time of 13.09.
The USATF Championships conclude on Sunday, June 24. For Penn State on Sunday, Isaiah Harris (Lewiston, Maine) competes in the final of men's 800-meter run at 4:13 p.m. (EDT), Holmberg closes out the heptathlon starting at 12:30 p.m. (EDT) and Nittany Lion alumna Rachel Fatherly (Williamsport, Pa.) of Velaasa will compete in the women's shot put at 3:10 p.m. (EDT)