TEMPE, Ariz. - The Penn State track & field programs finished competition at the Arizona State Invitational on Saturday in Tempe, Arizona. The Nittany Lions completed their first team meet of the outdoor season on Saturday.
Madison Smith followed up a strong performance at the Yellow Jacket Invitational last week by winning the women's javelin throw on Saturday afternoon. Smith won the event with a best throw of 159 feet, six inches (48.63m). Stephanie Sievers placed third in the women's javelin with a top distance of 149-1 (45.45m).
Michael Biddle gave the Nittany Lions a clean sweep of the javelin competitions. Biddle won the men's javelin with a top throw of 220-3 (67.14m).
Mark Porter finished third in the javelin with a best throw of 207-7 (63.27m). Porter was followed by Noah Swaby, who placed fifth with a throw of 194-10 (59.39m).
William Henderson won the men's long jump for Penn State. Henderson recorded a distance of 23-8 1/4 (7.22m). Henderson top distance came on his fourth attempt following a foul on his third attempt.
Payden Montana set a personal best in the women's shot put. Payden had the top distance in the event with a throw of 53-10 1/4 (16.41m).
In the women's 3000-meter run, Penn State tallied the top three finishers. Elizabeth Chikotas won the event with her time of 9:51.94. Andrea Demko placed second, finishing in 9:57.00.
Colin Abert also won the 3000-meter run on the men's side. Abert completed the race in 8:17.32. Ryan Barton placed third with a time of 8:37.45 for the Nittany Lions.
Antoinette Bradley won the women's 400-meter hurdles in a time of 1:01.87. Elyse Skerpon finished third in the event in 1:02.53.
The men's 1500-meter run had four Nittany Lions compete, led by James Abrahams. Abrahams finished second with a time of 3:46.82. Abrahams' time of 3:46.82 was a personal best. Billy McDevitt finished fourth (3:47.35), nearly setting a personal best time in the 1500m.
The Nittany Lions had four runners compete in the women's 1500-meter run. Moira O'Shea was the top finisher for the Nittany Lions. O'Shea finished her run in 4:28.53 for a second-place finish. Julia Paternain placed fifth with a time of 4:34.45.
Four student-athletes for Penn State placed in the top five in the men's shot put. Ben Peterson's throw of 59-4 (18.08m) gave him a second-place finish. Luke Grodeska placed third with a distance of 56-0 (17.07m). Thomas Bojalad finished fourth with his best throw of 54-6 (16.61m). Jack Zimmerman rounded out the competition with a fifth-place finish on his throw of 54-2 (16.51m).
Kier Miner was the top finisher for Penn State in the men's 400-meter dash. Miner finished second with his time of 48.23 seconds.
Drew Maher led the Nittany Lions with his fourth-place finish in a time of 1:52.25 in the men's 800-meter run. William Ashenfelter followed Maher, finishing fifth. Ashenfelter recorded a time of 1:52.35 in the 800-meter run.
Penn State had two runners compete in the women's 800-meter run. Victoria Tachinski was the top finisher for the Nittany Lions, crossing the finish line in 2:07.67 and giving her a a fourth-place finish. Frances Bull placed 10th with her time of 2:14.80.
Greer Gumbrecht and Carena Nottoli each recorded a height of 12-6 (3.81m) in the women's pole vault. Gumbrecht placed fifth and Nottoli finished seventh.
Breana Gambrell recorded a top distance in the women's long jump of 19-4 (5.89m). This gave Gambrell a second-place finish in the long jump. Gambrell also placed fifth in the women's triple jump with a distance of 37-6 (11.43m).
The Nittany Lions will be split next weekend, competing in the Florida Relays (March 28-30) and the Raleigh Relays (March 28). Full results from the Arizona State Invitational can be found by clicking here.
