June 7, 2018
EUGENE, Ore. - The second day of the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships featured a pair of Nittany Lions competing at Historic Hayward Field on Thursday. For Penn State on the day, Danae Rivers (Derby, Conn.) advanced to the final of the women's 1,500-meter run and Steph Sievers (Douglassville, Pa.) competed in the women's javelin throw.
Running in the first heat of the women's 1,500-meter run, Rivers finished sixth with her time of 4:11.72 - the second-fastest time of her career. With the top-five from the two heats plus the next two fastest times advancing on to the final, Rivers would have to wait and see if her time would hold up. In the second heat, Nikki Hiltz of Arkansas crossed the finish line first at 4:14.09 securing Rivers' spot in the final. Rivers will compete again on Saturday, June 9, at 3:41 p.m. (PDT)
"...God wanted me to be in the final," Rivers said. "It is all in His hands and I am just going to have fun."
Making her NCAA Championships debut on Thursday, Sievers finished 22nd in the women's javelin throw with her toss of 144-4. Through she wasn't thrilled with her finish, Sievers is already looking forward to the 2019 NCAA Championships with more of her teammates with her.
"As a competitor you are always wanting more unless you hit a personal-best you can't be completely satisfied," Sievers said. "At the end of the day I am thankful for great teammates to keep me going and now I get to enjoy the rest of the meet and cheer them on.
"Going into next year I know that we have a lot of people in my mind that are right on the bubble that can do it, they just have to show up to regionals and we all will be there," Sievers added. "For me, I can now describe to them my experience of being here and knowing that getting here is no different than anything else. You go out there and are competing with everyone, they may seem like they are so much better, but I think that it is reality and not some big dream is really helpful."
Friday's action for Penn State features three Nittany Lions competing. Isaiah Harris (Lewiston, Maine) looks to improve on his runner-up finish in the men's 800-meter run from last year at 6:44 p.m. (PDT), Maddie Holmberg (Greensburg, Pa.) begins the heptathlon at 12:30 p.m. (PDT) and David Lucas (Lititz, Pa.) competes in the men's discus throw at 5:05 p.m. (PDT)