JACKSONVILLE, Fla. - The Penn State track & field team concluded competition at the NCAA East Preliminaries on Saturday at the University of North Florida.
After six Nittany Lions punched their tickets to the NCAA Championship this week, Danae Rivers won her heat in the 1500m run with a season-best time of 4:12.81 to advance to her fourth NCAA Outdoor Championship. The former indoor 800m national champion will be making her 10th combined appearance at an NCAA national meet in track & field and cross country.
Rivers will be joined by Maddie Holmberg as Penn State's women's qualifiers for the meet in Eugene. Holmberg advanced as an automatic qualifier in the women's heptathlon following her Big Ten Championship victory earlier this month.
On the men's side, Penn State will send five athletes to Oregon, as Evan Dorenkamp (800m), David Lucas (discus), Tyler Merkley (hammer), Mark Porter (javelin) and Noah Swaby (decathlon) will compete at the championship meet.
Several Penn State athletes closed out successful seasons on Saturday. Yasmin Brooks competed in two events, placing 17th in the 400m hurdles with a time of 58.48 and 19th in the 100m hurdles with a time of 13.21.
Kathryn Munks capped off her five year run at Penn State with a 16:51.50 time in the 5000m run. Munks has been a constant presence at the top of the Penn State distance teams in her career, helping lead the Nittany Lions cross country team to a top 20 finish at the NCAA Championships in four consecutive years.
Carlie Wilson completed her first outdoor season with an 18th place finish in the high jump, narrowly missing her personal best with a jump of 1.72m (5-7.75). Piper Klinger finished a solid season for the Penn State women's throws squad with her second 50-meter discus throw of the year, recording a top throw of 50.19m (164-8).
Penn State's seven NCAA Championship qualifiers will be in action at the 2021 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships June 9-12 at the University of Oregon. The group will consist of two first-time qualifiers and five repeat qualifiers (Lucas, Holmberg, Porter, Rivers, Swaby).
More to follow...
