UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. ā The Penn State track & field program saw several personal-best performances on the opening day of the Penn State National Open at the Multi-Sport Facility & Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track Friday evening.
"This weekend is my favorite weekend of the year," said head coach John Gondak. "I always enjoy hosting high levels of competition here at the Ashenfelter track and as Penn State traditionally does at this competition we really showed up to compete tonight. I'm very pleased with the efforts all across the board.
"Maddie Holmberg really started the day off today with a NCAA No. 1 mark in the pentathlon and from there we got things rolling. Gianna Rao had a good PR in the weight throw which was very exciting for her. We had some great PRs in the women's triple jump and then Morgan Shigo finishes with a bomb and a NCAA top-five mark in the weight throw. It was exciting to see four women make the 60-meter dash final and have some PRs with what they accomplished today. Will Henderson finished with a PR in the 60-meter hurdles, we had some personal bests in the men's 5K, and the women's distance medley ran a top time in the country with a great four legs. It was a really solid day for Penn State track & field."
Maddie Holmberg started the Nittany Lions off strong, capturing the pentathlon title with a personal-best total score of 4219. The junior posted marks of 8.66 in the 60-meter hurdles, 1.61m in the high jump, 13.73m in the shot put, 6.08m in the long jump, and 2:18.78 in the 800-meter run. The total is second-best in program history and the top total in the nation heading into Saturday.
Morgan Shigo also had an impressive showing in the men's weight throw with a huge personal best distance of 73-2 (22.30m). His mark ranks second in the Penn State record books and is currently fifth in the nation.
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Hear what Morgan Shigo had to say after his PR performance in the weight throw on day one of the Penn State National Open. š#WeAre #PSUTF pic.twitter.com/I16U8DYETB
ā Penn State Track & Field/Cross Country (@PennStateTFXC) January 26, 2019
In the women's weight throw, freshman Gianna Rao set a personal-best toss of 63-7.5 (19.39m) to place third.
The freshman duo of Breana Gambrell and Rachel Gearing both set personal bests in the women's triple jumps with marks of 39-9.75 (12.13m) and 39-2.25 (11.94), respectively, to finish third and sixth.
Will Henderson bested his career record time in the men's 60-meter hurdles with a time of 7.90 to finish third.
In the women's distance medley, the Nittany Lion team of Marissa Sheva, Alexis Holmes, Victoria Tachinski and Danae Rivers won by over 15 seconds with a time of 11:09.85. The time leads the nation so far this season and is good enough for the No. 3 spot in program history.
Four Nittany Lion women earned spots in the 60-meter dash finals with Brooke-Lynn Williams leading the pack and taking second place with a time of 7.49. Keianna Albury (7.55), Kiara Lester (7.59) and Amariah Thomas (7.60) finished fourth, fifth and sixth, respectively.
In the men's 5,000-meter run, John McGowan finished third with a time of 14:26.25 while Ben Bumgarner finished fourth with a personal-best time of 14:34.59.
For a full listing of times and results click here.
The Nittany Lions will return for day two of the Penn State National Open Saturday morning starting at 10:50 a.m. Events will run through 5:25 p.m. at the Multi-Sport Facility and Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track.
The final day will feature the "Little Lion Lap" for all kids grades K-5 at 2 p.m. as well as the banner unveiling of Penn State's 2018 individual national champions, Isaiah Harris and David Lucas, at approximately 2:30 p.m.