UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Associate head coach Erin Tucker is back and ready to coach track & field for his fourth year at Penn State and 18th year overall in the profession. He is a true asset to this program because of the skills he has learned throughout his 18 years of coaching the sport, and his passion and drive inspires athletes to strive and better themselves every year for the Blue and White.
"Just in general, track & field is what I love. Being here and doing something I love every day is just great and I never feel like I'm working. Last season, I challenged both my men and women to improve from previous seasons," Tucker said.
Tucker oversees the program's sprints, hurdles and relays. He is constantly changing the workouts to keep the athletes in shape and remain healthy. It is very important to him that his athletes make it through the entire season because for some it does not end until June.
Tucker is looking for the upperclassmen to show leadership on the team. On the women's squad, there are three seniors: Elyse Skerpon, Lauren Costa, and Keianna Albury, who have shined throughout their past seasons.
Skerpon runs the 600-meters (1:34.18) during the indoor track season but once the outdoor season begins, she starts to do the 400 hurdles (1:01.53). Costa has been a short sprinter for the last few years and has improved so much that Tucker decided to move her up into the 400-meters group. Tucker also singled out Albury, an all-around star for the Nittany Lions and a member of the 4x100 relay that advanced to the NCAA East Regionals last spring, following making the Regionals in the 200m in 2017.
"For Keianna Albury, the sky is the limit on what she can do this year because she is a senior so last one, best one. The opportunity is right there in front of her to do something spectacular in this conference," Tucker said.
Junior Kiara Lester and sophomore Brooke-Lynn Williams are also looking to step up and improve with more experience. Williams is someone who challenges the other athletes whether the team is doing block-starts or hard workouts, and was also a part of the East Regionals 4x100 relay squad.
"Kiara Lester was a sophomore last year who really stepped up. She really got to the point but never got over the hump. As a junior, I definitely think she will be in the hunt to do exactly what she would do last year and then some more," Tucker said.
Tucker is excited to see what his freshmen can do for the team this season. High hurdler Ekaterina Hupalo (14.36), 100-meter sprinter Amariah Thomas (11.91) and Antoinette Bradley will help fill the shoes of the graduating class.
"The one term you use with freshmen is patience and that's the society we live in is instant gratification. We have to constantly talk about patience and then the work ethic. Even though a lot of these girls are really talented athletes, it is hard transitioning from high school. A lot of hard work from high school is totally different from hard work in college," Tucker said.
Outstanding freshman athlete, Alexis Holmes, has taken her skill to another level since joining the team. She runs the 400m (51.21) and has pushed everyone to meet her level of competitiveness on the track.
"Alexis Holmes ran a 51.2 in the 400m and was in position to place second or third at the NCAA. To be at that level as a high school senior, you can only understand how excited I am about what she is going to do for us this year. She has been training very well and challenges all of the other athletes," Tucker said.
On the men's side, seniors Samuel Reiser and Anton Porter are the leaders of the team. Both of them have been huge contributors to different relays such as the 4x100m and the 4x400m. This is their last season to shine and Tucker is ready for them to be strong competitors at the NCAA level.
Junior Kier Miner is back for his second season after transferring to Penn State. It took him some time to adjust to the layout of the team, but as the season progressed he has become an asset to the program.
"Without any breaks in training, Miner has been having an amazing fall. He is training at an incredibly high level. I'm not going to put any predictions out there but I am really excited to see what he can do for us this year," Tucker said.
In addition to long jumping, Will Henderson is another athlete that has been working with the hurdling group.
"Henderson made a huge change in the outdoor season and that was why he was able to make the finals in the 100m and that is why he was able to be in our 4X100m relay. In the hurdles, he is going great and we already know how great of a sprinter he is going to be this season."
Tucker also mentioned juniors Tristan Daman and Darien Williams, both from Pennsylvania, as other upperclassmen that are ready to take that next step and contribute points to the team.
Moving to the newcomers, Rick Zink and Chase Ebersole are two athletes who room together and are working to step up from high school competition. Zink was a state champion last year in the 400m with a time of 47.92. He has the passion and desire to be the best on the team, despite being so young.
"Rick Zink has got moxy. I don't know any other way to describe him. He has got something about him that you know he is going to do something special. Whether he does it this year, next year or years to come but he trains at a level that is really exciting," Tucker said.
Ebersole is one of the most hardworking athletes and never fails to impress Tucker. He trains hard every single day in practice and has been progressing tremendously throughout this preseason. Freshman Justin Ofotan is a third newcomer that was second at the New Balance meet last year in the 100m with a time of 10.40 this past outdoor season. Tucker has been working with him on new skills to decrease his time.
Tucker enjoys training together with the new and returning athletes, and he knows the kind of special opportunities these student-athletes have.
"Penn State is special because it is the perfect blend of academics and athletics. We can actually look at the term student-athlete. We have so many options and we have so many people who are here to help. The Penn State nation is going to take these athletes to great places all over the world."