CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Penn State track & field team competed in the first of two days of the Fighting Illini Big Ten Relays at the University of Illinois on Friday.
The day saw a split of field events and individual events on the track. Relay events are slated to take place on Saturday.
The Nittany Lions set several personal bests throughout the day and combined for six event victories.
"Today was an opportunity for us to compete at the facility that will host the Big Ten Championships next month," Head Coach John Gondak said. "I was very pleased with the passion and fight we showed today while competing here at Illinois. We continue to build momentum as the season heads into its final weeks and I am looking forward to seeing the Blue and White get back after it tomorrow"
Coming off a season-best performance last weekend in Texas, Yasmin Brooks set a new personal record of 13.50 to win the 100-meter hurdles. Also setting a personal record in a victory was senior Kathryn Munks, who bested her PR by over 10-seconds with a 16:11.25 time in her win in the 5000-meter run.
Also earning victories for the Penn State women were Audra Koopman with a 5.93m (19-5.5) long jump open and Katie Jones with a mark of 4.06m (13-3.75) to win the pole vault. Madison Smith set a new season-high in the women's javelin with a 50.63m (166-1) throw to place second. Breana Gambrell also added a new season best in the long jump with a 6.12m (20-1) jump.
On the men's side, Mark Porter continued the strong campaign of the men's javelin squad, winning the event with a throw of 71.46m (234-5). The group entered the weekend ranked second in the nation in the USTFCCCA event rankings. Isaiah Claiborne added a victory on the track, winning the 800m run with a personal best time of 1:50.34. The team also added a pair of third place finishes on the track with Evan Dorenkamp placing third in the 1500m run (3:47.90) and Alex Tomasko placing third in the 5000m run with a PR of 14:26.37. Penn State took three of the top six spots in the 5000, with Isaac Davis finishing fifth with a PR of 14:28.30 and Behailu Bekele-Arcuri finishing sixth with a PR of 14:29.26. Ben Peterson posted a strong performance in the shot put, placing third with an 18.07m (59-3.5) throw. He was followed by Lucciano Pizarro who placed fifth with a PR of 17.32m (56-10) throw.
Saturday's events are scheduled to begin at 10 a.m. ET with the men's hammer throw. Additionally, senior Danae Rivers will be on the national stage on Saturday as she competes in the 1500m run at the USATF Journey to Gold at the Drake Relays. The event will be televised on NBCSN and can be streamed live on Peacock. Event coverage begins at 3 p.m. ET.