UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Head coach and director of Penn State track and field John Gondak has announced the indoor schedule for the upcoming 2019-2020 indoor track and field season. The Nittany Lions will host four indoor meets at the Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track.
Head Coach John Gondak said of the upcoming season, "Our indoor track and field schedule has a great balance of home and away competitions. We have one of the best indoor facilities in the country and it is always a benefit to our student-athletes to host competitions on our home track. Our annual National Open will once again bring great competition to Happy Valley.
We are excited to travel to some new locations this year. We return to the Armory for the first time in 12 years as a team and visit the University of Kentucky for the first time in 4 years. We will also attend fantastic meets at the University of Washington, Clemson and Iowa State. Our schedule is set up to challenge our student-athletes and prepare them for championship season."
The Nittany Lions open the indoor season at Bison Opener hosted by Bucknell University on December 7.
Beginning the new year, Penn State hosts its first home meet of the season with the Nittany Lion Challenge on January 11.
The Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor track has historical significance for both Penn State and across the country. On a national stage the facility has seen national, American and collegiate records all broken in University Park. Last season at the Nittany Lion Challenge, Danae Rivers turned in a blazing time of 2:38.58 to set a collegiate record in the 1000m race.
Penn State splits the squad the following week with meets at the Dr. Sander Invitational in Armory, N.Y. and the Rod McCravy Memorial hosted by the University of Kentucky January 24-25.
The Nittany Lions return home for the next two weeks with the National Open on January 31-Feburary 1. The National Open draws the top teams from across the country and has annually been streamed live to a national audience.
Following the National Open, Penn State hosts the Sykes & Sabock Challenge on February 8.
Traveling to three locations the following week, the Penn State track and field programs are split amongst the Husky Classic (Seattle, Washington), Tiger Paw Invite (Clemson, South Carolina) and Iowa State Classic (Ames, Iowa) on February 14-15.
Penn State returns home to host the final meet of the indoor season with the Penn State Tune-Up on February 21.
Postseason competition begins at the Big Ten Championships hosted in Geneva, Ohio at the Spire Institute.
The 2020 indoor season concludes on March 13-14 at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In 2019, the Penn State women's indoor track and field program finished 11th in the country, the second highest finish out of Big Ten institutions.
During the indoor season in 2019, the Nittany Lions claimed three Big Ten individual championships, saw Danae Rivers win the first women's individual indoor national championship and four Nittany Lions earned first team All-America honors.
Since 2010, 68 Nittany Lions have earned first team All-America status in indoor track and field. Penn State has won 42 individual Big Ten championships and three team titles over the last ten years.
Horace Ashenfelter III was a four-time All-American and national champion at Penn State. He also won an Olympic gold medal in the 3000m steeplechase. The indoor facility is dedicated to Ashenfelter and is regarded as one of the top indoor track and field facilities in the country.
