UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State track & field team heads on the road for the first time in 2022 when the team travels to New York City for the Dr. Sander Columbia Invitational at the New York Armory on Friday and Saturday.
LIVE STREAM | MEET RESULTS | MEET SCHEDULE
COMPETING TEAMS: Adelphi, Albany, Binghamton, Boston College, Boston U, Brown, BYU, Columbia, UCONN, Cornell, Dartmouth, Dickinson, Fordham, Hampton, Johns Hopkins, La Salle, Laurel, Lehigh, Maryland, Messiah, Neptune, Penn, Princeton, South Carolina, St. John's, Syracuse, Temple, UCLA, Villanova, Virginia
LAST TIME OUT:
The Nittany Lions had their strongest showing to date last weekend at the Sykes & Sabock Challenge.
The success started early, with senior Katie Jones breaking her own program record with a pole vault of 4.27 meters. The vault is tied for first in the Big Ten this season and broke Jones' previous Penn State record of 4.25 meters set at the 2020 Big Ten Championships.
Another highlight of the day came in the women's 800m, when two-time defending Big Ten Women's Track Athlete of the Week Allison Johnson posted the fastest 800m run in the NCAA this season with a time of 2:04.03. Teammate Victoria Tachinski placed right behind her at 2:04.68, ranking sixth in the nation this season. The times are the two best in the Big Ten this season and rank second and third in Penn State history. Rachel Gearing placed fourth in the race with a time of 2:06.25 and Victoria Vanriele placed fifth with a time of 2:06.39, ranking 21st and 23rd in the NCAA respectively. In total, the Nittany Lions have four of the five fastest 800m times in the Big Ten. Johnson claimed her third Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week in a row, tying a conference record and becoming the first freshman to claim the award three times in a season.
Cecelia Bacon also joined the ranks of the Penn State all-time list, winning the women's high jump with a top mark of 1.80m, the fourth best in Penn State history.
On the men's side, Evan Dorenkamp opened the day with the second fastest mile of the year in the Big Ten, posting a time of 3:57.15. The time ranks third in program history, marking the third different event this season in which Dorenkamp has entered the top five list. Senior Drew Maher finished with a time of 4:04.40, ranking eighth in the Big Ten this season.
Freshman captain Korbin Martino also made his debut on the list, winning the 400m run in 46.57, the fourth fastest in program history and ranks 11th in the NCAA this season.
Tyler Merkley closed out the day with a PR of his own ending the day with a weight throw of 21.28m.
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. - COMPLETE
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
