UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State track & field program carried its momentum from day one into the final day of the Penn State National Open, capped by junior Danae Rivers' school record in the 800-meters Saturday at the Multi-Sport Facility & Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track.
"Another National Open weekend in the books and I was really pleased with how our team performed," said head coach John Gondak. "This weekend is always an exciting weekend for Penn State track & field: The meet is streamed live on FloTrack, we had great crowds – at one point it was three or four deep up top, standing room only. Our team came to perform and that they did. We had a handful of NCAA No. 1 performances. I think our track is extremely fast, our venue is a great place to compete, and when you look through the results I'm sure you'll see what I'm talking about in terms of the fantastic performances that Penn State track & field had this weekend."
Rivers continues to set records for the Nittany Lions this season, with her latest record coming in the women's 800-meters with a time of 2:02.94. The school record time is also the top time in the nation heading into Sunday.
Will Henderson had another great meet, setting a PR in the men's long jump at 25-5.5 (7.76m) for a second place finish. The mark ties the No. 4 distance in the program record books. Teammate Bryce Williams took fifth with a distance of 23-5.25 (7.14m), nearly matching a personal best.
Freshman Alexis Holmes bested her time from last weekend in the 400-meters, running at 53.24 for the No. 10 time in the country.
Holmes also won the 200-meter dash with a personal-best time of 23.83, a time that is also top-10 in the nation heading into Sunday. Keianna Albury finished behind Holmes at 24.18 and Kiara Lester placed fourth at 24.39.
In the men's 3,000-meter run, senior Timothy McGowan cruised to a first place finish with a personal-best time of 8:01.49, nearly 10 seconds faster than the next competitor. The mark also sits at No. 4 in the Penn State record books.
Justin Ofotan ran a personal-best time of 21.55 in the men's 200-meter dash to place third.
Freshman Breana Gambrell won the women's long jump with a personal-best distance of 19-11.5 (6.08m). Teammate Audra Koopman placed second with a mark of 19-1.5 (5.83m).
In the women's pole vault, Carena Nottoli jumped a personal-best 13-1 (3.99m) to place fourth.
Antoinette Bradley ran a personal-best time of 1:31.76 to place second in the women's 600-meters. On the men's side, Sam Reiser also placed second with his time of 1:19.75.
All three Nittany Lions finished in the top-five and set PRs in the women's 3,000-meter run: Moira O'Shea (second, 9:33.68), Kathryn Munks (fifth, 9:39.93), and Jordan Williams (fifth, 9:46.55).
In the men's 1,000-meter run, Malual Mu raced for the first time this season and finished in second with a time of 2:24.93.
In the men's high jump, Devin Bradham finished in second place with a height of 6-9 (2.06m). On the women's side, Alexa Parks finished in third with a height of 5-6.5 (1.69m).
The Nittany Lions remain home for the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup on Saturday, Feb. 2 in the Multi-Sport Facility. Action starts at 11 a.m.
