JACKSONVILLE, Fla – After a successful first day at the NCAA East Preliminaries, the Penn State track & field team was back in action on Thursday for the second day of competition at the University of North Florida.
Several members of the Penn State women's team were in action on the meet's second day. The day was highlighted by a memorable performance from Yasmin Brooks, who set personal bests in two different events to advance to the quarterfinals on Saturday. Brooks first competed in the 100-meter hurdles, posting a time of 13.14 to place third in her heat. She then set a career-best in the 400-meter hurdles just two hours later, placing second in her heat with a time of 58.36.
Also advancing to the quarterfinals was Danae Rivers, who will look to add to her storied collegiate resume in her final season at Penn State. Rivers placed first in her heat of the 1500-meter run with a time of 4:18.68. She will compete in the 1500m quarterfinals on Saturday at 5:45 p.m.
Hailey Zurich capped off a memorable first outdoor season at Penn State by setting yet another program record in the women's pole vault. A week after setting the program record at the Big Ten Championships, Zurich bested that mark with a vault of 4.17m (13-8.25) to place 13th in the event. Teammate Katie Jones placed 18th in the event with a vault of 4.07m (13-4.25).
Maddie Holmberg had a strong showing in the women's long jump, placing 18th with a jump of 6.16m (20-2.5). Holmberg has already advanced to the NCAA Championships as an automatic qualifier in the women's heptathlon. Madison Smtih closed out a tremendous junior season with an 18th place finish in the women's javelin, recording a top throw of 48.13m (157-11).
Competition will flip back to the men's side on Friday, with a full day of quarterfinals competition. Three Nittany Lions will have a chance to punch their ticket to Eugene, as David Lucas and Tom Bojalad will compete in the men's discus throw at 1:30 p.m. and Evan Dorenkamp will compete in the men's 800m run at 7:35 p.m.