UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State track and field All-American Tyler Merkley has been named the Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Men's Field Athlete of the Year, as announced by the conference office Thursday afternoon.
Merkley is the third Nittany Lion in program history, and first since Darrell Hill in 2014, to be named Big Ten Outdoor Men's Field Athlete of the Year.
Merkley's stellar senior season culminated in an NCAA runner-up finish in the hammer throw last week at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Merkley unleashed a personal-best mark of 72.70m (238-6) at the NCAA Championships to set a Penn State record and top the previous school record of 72.47m (237-9) that was set by Morgan Shigo in 2018. His second-place finish earned him first-team All-America honors.
Merkley scored points in both the hammer and discus throws at the 2022 Big Ten Outdoor Championships. He finished second in the hammer with a toss of 70.08m (229-11) and seventh in the discus with a mark of 55.26m (181-3). The Rancho Cucamonga, Calif. native also won the College Men's Hammer Throw Championship at the 126th Penn Relays this season.
Merkley wrapped up his senior season in the Blue & White with the top mark in program history in the hammer throw as well as a top-10 mark in Penn State history in discus.
