UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The Penn State Cross Country/Track & Field program held its annual awards banquet on Sunday to honor the achievements of the team's athletes and staff in 2021.
The 2021 Nittany Lions battled through the adversity of the COVID-19 pandemic to complied several memorable achievements that were celebrated on Sunday night. Five Penn State athletes claimed Big Ten individual championships, as Domenic Perretta (800m) and Victoria Vanriele (800m) claimed indoor titles and Mark Porter (javelin), David Lucas (discus) and Maddie Holmberg (heptathlon) claimed outdoor titles. These athletes received First Team All-Big Ten honors. Vanriele was also named Big Ten Freshman of the Year following the indoor championships. The Nittany Lions also saw success on the national stage, with nine NCAA Championship qualifiers. Danae Rivers (1500m) and Maddie Holmberg (heptathlon) closed out their legendary Penn State careers with First Team All-American honors.
Three program records were broken in 2021, as Hailey Zurich (outdoor, 4.17m) and Luke Knipe (indoor, 5.30m) broke Penn State pole vault records and Danae Rivers closed out her career with a program record 4:10.47 in the 1500m at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. It marked Rivers' 11th program record.
The success also extended to the classroom, as 54 Nittany Lions were named to the Academic All-Big Ten team.
Head Coach John Gondak and the Penn State coaching staff also handed out the program's 2021 team awards on Sunday. See below for the full list of winners:
Penn State Track & Field Most Valuable Athlete – Track (Women's)
Danae Rivers
Penn State Track & Field Most Valuable Athlete – Track (Men's)
Evan Dorenkamp
Penn State Track & Field Most Valuable Athlete – Field (Women's)
Maddie Holmberg
Penn State Track & Field Most Valuable Athlete – Field (Men's)
Tyler Merkley
Penn State Track & Field Most Improved Award - (Women's T&F)
Hailey Zurich
Penn State Track & Field Most Improved Award - (Men's T&F)
Luke Knipe
Penn State Cross Country Most Improved Award -
Maddie Ullom
Ed Moran Memorial Men's Freshman of the Year Award -
Kevin Bartosh
Women's Track & Field Freshman of the Year Award -
Victoria Vanriele
Cross Country Newcomer of the Year Award -
Eric Hamel
Kevin Dare Most Inspirational Award - (Women's T&F)
Yasmin Brooks
Kevin Dare Most Inspirational Award - (Men's T&F)
Domenic Perretta
Penn State Track & Field Coaches Award
Chris Fredericks
Lucciano Pizarro
David Lucas
Mark Porter
Lance Hamilton
Ryann Brundage
Victoria Tachinski
Antoinette Bradley
Ekaterina Hupalo
Carlie Wilson
Cecelia Bacon
COVID-19 MVPs: The Penn State Training Staff
Michael Gay
Emily Lauer
