UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — The Penn State javelin team have waited patiently and kept themselves motivated during the indoor season awaiting the start of the outdoor season. The javelin team had been itching to compete during the indoor season and are excited to finally translate their training into competition. The Nittany Lions began their season at the Penn Invite on March 19th in Philadelphia.
"It's almost like a countdown for us and we get super excited for our first meet. It was pretty nice to be lowkey and just to go to Philly, it was just the throwers for the most part so it was a small group, but we were all together and were able to open up together," senior Madison Smith said.
Although it is a small group of throwers, the team is a tight-knit group who support and uplift each other during practices and in competition in order for the group to have overall team success.
"The overall camaraderie between the women's team and the throwers in general is really strong and really motivating. It just gets us super excited for the meet and we love cheering each other on," Smith said.
For travel trips the team typically leaves on a weekday and returns on a Sunday, which can turn into a four-day trip. According to Smith, although traveling as a team can be long, it's fun to spend time with the team and a lot of cool people. Now that season is in full swing for the javelin team, they are looking to accomplish the goals they have set as a group.
"All of us are looking to improve on our best marks and right now just really work on some technical things as we go through the first couple of meets. There are some people in our group that are doing outstanding," Smith said.
Among the athletes that have hit personal records so far this season are freshman Collin Burkhart, who hit a personal best of 68.19 meters at UCF. Freshman Tristan Schmidt, has also hit a personal best of 62.58 meters.
"We're all just trying to dial in on some technical changes, just keep hitting some better marks. Whether you get first or whether you get seventh, that's not what's important. If you can make some technical changes and see a better distance, that's really kind of the outcome we're getting at this point and then when we get to Big Tens, we'll be ready to rock," Smith said.
Now that the 2022 outdoor season is in full swing, the Nittany Lions are striving to accomplish their goals and look ahead to a successful season.
