ANN ARBOR, Mich.; February 22, 2019 – The Penn State track & field program advanced numerous qualifiers and earned a pair of top-three finishes during the first day of the Big Ten Indoor Championships Friday at the U-M Indoor Track Building.
The Nittany Lion men's team advanced six runners in events with first-day qualifying and posted a pair of top finishes. Penn State is in second place in the men's standings after the first day of competition.
The Penn State women's squad advanced five runners in events with first-day qualifying. The Nittany Lions are in eighth place entering Saturday's action.
Penn State had three of the top-nine finishers in the men's weight throw, with Morgan Shigo earning silver with a throw of 21.65m (71-00.50). David Lucas was fourth with a top throw of 21.10m (69-02.75) and Luke Grodeska was ninth. Bryce Williams earned fifth place in the men's long jump with a top effort of 7.19m (23-07.25) and Will Henderson was sixth at 7.18m (23-06.75). Devin Bradham placed fifth in the long jump with a 2.08m (6-09.75).
The Nittany Lions had three of the top-seven finishers in the women's pole vault. Carena Nottoli tied for fourth with a top effort of 3.94m (12-11.00) and Megan Fry was sixth, also with 3.94m (12-11.00). Greer Gumbrecht tied for seventh at 3.79m (12-05.25).
Danae Rivers posted the top qualifying time in 800-meter run with a 2:07.69. Ranked No. 3 nationally in the 800, Rivers has won the Big Ten indoor 800 title the past two years.
The men's distance medley team of Owen Wing, Kier Miner, Billy McDevitt and Colin Abert placed third with a time of 9:39.03. The women's distance medley unit of Marissa Sheva, Antionette Bradley, Victoria Tachinski and Danae Rivers finished fifth in 11:26:38. Moira O'Shea placed eighth in the women's 3,000 meters with a time of 9:30.40.
Alexis Holmes and Kiara Lester each advanced to the finals in the women's 200- and 400-meters. Holmes ran a 23.86 and 53.78, respectively, while Lester ran a 24.07 and a personal-best 54.31. Holmes had the second-fastest qualifying time in the 400 and was No. 3 in the 200.
Justin Ofotan advanced to two men's finals, in the 60- (06.77) and 200-meters (21.32) with season-best times in both events. Gary Ross posted the second-best time in the 600-meter dash (1:18.42) to qualify for the finals and Dom Perretta advanced to the men's 800-meter run final with a time of 1:49.96.
The Nittany Lions will have two finalists in the men's mile. Brandon Hontz finished with a time of 4:06.66 and Abert ran a 4:08.18 to advance to Saturday's final.
The second and final day of the Big Ten Indoor Championships begins Saturday at 10 a.m. Fans can catch the action on BTN+ (subscription) or follow along on Twitter at @PennStateTFXC.
