PHILADELPHIA – Highlighted by a pair of Hammer Throw wins, the Penn State track and field teams concluded a strong day one of competition at the Penn Relays Thursday.
Tyler Merkley got the first win of the weekend for the Nittany Lions when he won the College Men's Hammer Throw Championship with a mark of 69.13m (226-9). This is the senior's first ever Penn Relays watch won of his career.
Freshman Collin Burkhart made his Penn Relays debut with a winning toss of 64.65m (212-1) in the College Men's Hammer Throw. His performance was both a new personal best, as well as an improvement on his sixth-furthest all-time program ranking.
Yasmin Brooks finished fifth in the College Women's 400m Hurdles Championship with a new personal-best time of 58.31. She improved on her eighth-fastest program ranking.
Senior Connor McMenamin ran the tenth fastest 3000m Steeplechase time in program history with a personal-best time of 8:52.16 to place fourth in the College Men's 3000 meter Steeplechase Championship.
The distance squad also saw Tanner Piotrowski place 12th in the men's 1500m with a time of 3:50.95. Colin Waters had a massive personal record in the men's 5000m with a time of 14:22.69. On the women's side, Jordan Williams had a personal-best performance of her own in the women's 3000m Steeplechase when she clocked a 10:31.80. Senior Alison Willingmyre placed eighth in the 10,000m with a time of 34:33.87.
The Nittany Lions resume competition tomorrow at noon on the field. Action on the track begins at 1:03 p.m. with the College Women's 4x100 heats.
