GENEVA, Ohio - It was a medal filled day for the Penn State track & field team on the final day of the Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships.
The Nittany Lions combined for four medals, including two individual Big Ten Championship winning performances on the day. Penn State finished the weekend with three individual championships and nine medals. The Nittany Lion women placed third as a group with 85 points.
"I am really proud of the way our team battled this weekend," Head Coach John Gondak said. "Our women's team was in it until the very end and we finished third behind two very talented teams. Congratulations to our three Big Ten Champions Chloe Royce, Yasmin Brooks and Allison Johnson."
Allison Johnson continued her historic freshman campaign by capturing gold in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:05.18. The victory marks Penn State's sixth straight championship in the women's 800m run. Senior teammate Victoria Tachinski claimed silver in the event, placing right behind Johnson with a time of 2:05.82. Rachel Gearing also scored for Penn State, placing fourth at 2:05.63.
Just minutes later, senior Yasmin Brooks won Penn State's second gold medal of the day by winning the women's 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.21. Brooks is the first Penn State woman to claim the 60H championship.
In the final individual event of the day, senior Tyler Merkley added to his impressive resume by claiming silver in the men's weight throw. Merkley recorded a personal best throw of 21.86m (71-8.75) on his final attempt to jump into second place. The throw ranks third in Penn State history.
Several Nittany Lions scored with top-eight finishes throughout the afternoon. Jumper Tesia Thomas placed fourth in the women's triple jump with a personal best 12.59m (41-3.75). Teammate Cecelia Bacon also posted a fourth-place finish in the high jump, recording a top mark of 1.70m (5-8.75). Freshman jumper Isaac Osifo recorded a PR of his own, recording a 2.10 (6-10.75) mark in the high jump to place sixth.
On the track, Evan Dorenkamp placed sixth in the men's mile with a time of 4:09.33. Freshman Olivier Desmeules placed sixth in his first Big Ten Championship appearance in the 800m run with a time of 1:50.02. The Nittany Lions also earned a sixth-place finish from Ka'Mere Day in the 60m dash (6.77).
Also scoring for Penn State on Saturday were Victoria Vanriele (7th/800m), Madaline Ullon (8th/800m), Antoinette Bradley (8th/600m) and Gianna Rao (8th/WT),
Iowa claimed the Big Ten men's title with a team score of 117. Minnesota won the women's championship with 102 points.
Full results: https://live.deltatiming.com/meets/12634
Click Here for a look back at day one.
