EUGENE, Ore. – World U20 Championships qualifying performances from Penn State track and field freshmen Collin Burkhart and James Onwuka highlighted a busy competition weekend for several Nittany Lions at four national championship competitions across the globe. Penn State student-athletes competed in the USATF Outdoor Championships, USATF U20 Outdoor Championships, Canadian Track and Field Championships and African U20 Outdoor Championships.
Burkhart finished second in the men's hammer throw at the USATF U20 Outdoor Championships in Eugene, Ore. Thursday afternoon. His new personal-best toss of 72.58m (238-1) was good for second place and punches his ticket to the World U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia in August.
Onwuka ran a personal-best time of 47.32 in the 400m at the African U20 Championships. His performance earned him a spot on the Nigerian U20 team that will head to the World U20 Championships in Cali, Colombia in August.
Penn State was well represented at the USATF Outdoor Championships, with Rachel Gearing competing in the 800m and Tyler Merkley competing in the hammer throw. Merkley placed ninth with a toss of 72.26m (237-1), while Gearing ran a time of 2:05.83 in the 800m race.
Olivier Desmeules, Chloe Royce and Victoria Tachinski represented the Nittany Lions at the Canadian Track and Field Championships in Langley, B.C. Desmeules ran a 1:48.88 in the 800m qualifying round to advance to Saturday's final round where he turned in a personal-best time of 1:47.11 to finish third.
Tachinski just missed qualifying for the finals in the women's 800m at the Canadian Track and Field Championships, placing ninth in the prelims with a time of 2:05.33. Royce competed in the both the long jump and women's 100m hurdles. She finished with a time of 14.88 in the 100m hurdles.
