UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - As fall training continues, the Penn State track & field teams are gearing towards their indoor season opener in mid-January. Women's jumps and multi-events coach, Fritz Spence, is eager to continue coaching for Penn State in what will be his 13th year for the Blue and White. He is excited for the season to begin, and ready to show off some of his outstanding student-athletes.
Spence's athletes have been training throughout this entire fall season and are ready to get a kick-start with indoor track. He feels that it is very important for his athletes to train their hardest during these current months. This is the time where they can form a base for the rest of the season.
"Fall is the foundation so building a good, strong foundation will help us throughout the season with injuries," Spence said. "We have a tough season and competing every weekend in addition to school work, putting in a good fall training and having a good base is really crucial to having success that we can see at the end of the season."
For multi-events, senior Maddie Holmberg is ready to begin her season and see how much progress she has made from last spring. Previously being an All-American, a school record holder for the heptathlon with 5,976 points, and one of the best athletes in program history, Holmberg is a leader to this team and continuously works hard to achieve greatness.
"Maddie, during the summer, did a lot of mileage to help with her 800 meters. She did a lot of technical stuff working with the javelin and shot put on her own. Just through practice, you can see the improvement from last year. She is a leader and she has been doing a great job with keeping the new athletes involved," Spence said.
Sophomore Alexa Parks also hopes to step up as she is looking to fill the shoes of former Nittany Lion Megan McCloskey. McCloskey, an All-American, finished fourth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships with a jump of 5-10 to finish off her career last spring.
"In the high jump, I'm looking forward for Alexa Parks to have a successful year. Especially because Megan McCloskey is all done, I think she is ready to step into Megan's shoes and fill that gap," Spence said.
Junior Kelsey Vieira also is a strong member of the jumps group for the Lions. She will look to improve this year and build off last year's eighth place finish in the triple jump (40-1-5) and 15th-place finish in the long jump (19-0) at last year's Big Ten Indoor Championships.
"Kelsey Vieira had an outstanding sophomore year," Spence said on his strong jumper. "I'm looking forward to seeing her as she develops to be one of the top triple jumpers in the Big Ten Conference this upcoming season."
Alyssa Yeboah-Kodie and Olivia Giambra round out the returners in this group, and Spence has high expectations for both.
"Alyssa Yeboah-Kodie is coming into her own this fall in the multi-events, looking forward to some outstanding performances from her this upcoming season, Spence said. Then adding, "Olivia Gambrell is also working hard and improving this fall. The expectation is big for her going into her senior season."
With strong expectations for the returning group, it's still hard to forget about the incoming freshmen.
Spence has many new freshmen who have also been learning the ins and outs of Penn State this fall and are all eager to compete.
Freshman Breana Gambrell was a four-time state champion in Pennsylvania and consistently long jumps over 20 feet. Fellow classmates, Taylor Givens and Rachel Gearing have also been working closely with Spence on their specific events prior to their first competitions this winter.
"Taylor Givens is also a state champ in Pennsylvania in the long jump. She is also a multi-eventer. She has been learning the seven disciplines which is tough but she has been working hard," Spence said.
Other freshmen that have stood out to Spence are Cecelia Bacon and Kathleen Gallagher. Bacon does a wide variety of events such as the high jump (5-5), triple jump (39-0) and the 400 (58.25), while Gallagher is a state champion in the high jump from Maryland.
Penn State track & field has a community where each member of the team supports one another and is a hard-working group, two of the many reasons why Spence has been here for so many years.
"Penn State is Penn State. I work with some of the best coaches in the country and with the best athletes in the country. I look forward to coming in every day, working with with the team and getting them better," Spence said. "To me, I think of it as track & field, I love doing it."
"I would like to think, I haven't worked a day in my life because it's something I really enjoy doing and want to be good at it."