UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - For the third straight weekend, the Penn State track & field team will compete inside the Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track and Multi-Sport Facility when the team hosts the Sykes & Sabock Challenge on Saturday.
LIVE STREAM | MEET RESULTS | MEET SCHEDULE | MEET PROGRAM
COMPETING TEAMS: Akron (m/w), Binghamton (m/w), Bowling Green (w), Bucknell (m/w), Kent State (m/w), Morgan State (m/w), Penn (m/w), Penn State (m/w), Princeton (m/w), Shippensburg (m/w), Tiffin (m/w), Villanova (m), West Virginia (w)
LAST TIME OUT:
It was a weekend of program all-time top five performances at the Penn State National Open for the Nittany Lions.
A week after recording the top 1000m time in the NCAA in her collegiate debut, freshman Allison Johnson posted the second best mile time in Penn State history with a time of 4:37.44. The time ranks first in the Big Ten and fifth in the NCAA this season. She was named Big Ten Indoor Track. Athlete of the Week for the second straight week, becoming the first freshman since 2012 to claim the award twice in a season. She's also the first Penn State freshman in history to claim the award twice in a season.
In the 800m, seniors Victoria Tachinski (2:06.31) and Rachel Gearing (2:06.77) recorded PRs to place first and second in the race. The times rank fourth and fifth in program history. They are the top two times in the Big Ten and both rank in the top ten nationally.
The women's distance group also found success in the 3000m run, with Faith DeMars leading the field with a PR of 9:26.24. She led a group of Nittany Lions setting PRs with Makenna Krebs, Jordan Williams and Sophia Toti finishing in the top five.
Yasmin Brooks followed her PR in the 60m hurdles a week prior by winning the women's 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.23. It ranks as the fifth best time in program history. Ekaterina Hupalo also recorded a PR in the race with a time of 8.44 to place third. Brooks then followed with PR of 24.58 in the 200m on Saturday.
The Penn State jumpers recorded three wins on Saturday, with Breana Gambrell winning the long jump (5.98m), Cecelia Bacon winning the high jump (1.76m) and Hailey Zurich and Katie Jones sharing the win in the pole vault (4.09m).
On the men's side, Evan Dorenkamp added another victory to his resume, winning the 1000m at 2:21.23. Freshman Olivier Desmeules finished third in the race at 2:24.52 in his collegiate debut. Dorenkamp's time ranks fourth in program history.
A week after recording the third best weight throw in Penn State history, Tyler Merkley matched his career-best throw with a toss of 21.17m.
FULL INDOOR SCHEDULE
Dec. 4-5 - Bison Opener | Lewisburg, Pa. - COMPLETE
Jan. 15 - Nittany Lion Challenge | University Park, Pa. - COMPLETE
Jan. 21 -22 - Penn State National Open | University Park, Pa. - COMPLETE
Jan. 29 - Sykes Sabock Challenge | University Park, Pa.
Feb. 4-5 - JDL Camel City Invitational | Winston Salem, N.C.
Feb. 4-5 - Armory Collegiate Challenge | New York, N.Y.
Feb. 11-12 - Boston University Invitational | Boston, Mass.
Feb. 11-12 - Vanderbilt Invitational | Nashville, Tenn.
Feb. 18 - Penn State Tune Up | University Park, Pa.
Feb. 18-19 - JDL DMR Invite | Winston Salem, N.C.
Feb. 25-26 - Big Ten Indoor Championships | Geneva, Ohio
