UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State track & field team will return home to Happy Valley this weekend to host the Penn State National Open at the Indoor Multisport Facility and Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track. Events will begin on Friday, Jan. 27 and run through Saturday, Jan. 28.
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The Penn State National Open is the Nittany Lions' biggest home meet of the season and will feature some of the best event groups in the country competing this weekend.
NITTANY LIONS IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Penn State saw two marks crack the top-five in school history last week at Virginia Tech. Hailey Zurich tied her own PR with the second-best pole vault clearance in program history with a 13-10.5(4.23m) effort. On the oval, Rachel Gearing recorded the third best 600m time in school history with a 1:29.49.
On January 14 at the Nittany Lion Challenge, Cecelia Bacon posted a 1.83m/6-0 effort in the high jump to tie Alexa Parks (2020) for the indoor record at Penn State.
Additionally, two international records fell at the Nittany Lion Challenge, both in the men's 1,000m run. Yukichi Ishii set a new Japanese national indoor record with a 2:21.99, followed by Handal Roban's St. Vincent & the Grenadines national indoor record-breaking 2:24.08.
Tyler Merkley's 21.92m/71-11 weight throw effort at the Nittany Lion Invitational increased his claim to the third-best mark in the event in Penn State history and set a new personal best in the event.
The Nittany Lions have already claimed two Big Ten Athlete of the Week honors so far in the 2022-23 season. Kauffman took home the award for her shot put effort at the Bison Opener and Desmeules earned recognition from the conference when he broke the U23 Canadian national record with a 1:16.63 in the indoor 600m at Penn State's annual Blue & White Intrasquad Scrimmage on December 10.
A LOOK AHEAD
The Nittany Lions have entered into the following events this upcoming weekend:
Friday Events (Women): Pentathlon, Weight Throw, Pole Vault, Long Jump, 60m Hurdles, 60m Dash, Mile, 800m Run, 5,000m
Friday Events (Men): Pole Vault, Weight Throw, 60m Dash, Mile, 800m, 5,000m
Saturday Events (Women): High Jump, Pole Vault, Shot Put, Triple Jump, Distance Medley Relay, 400m Dash, 600m Run, 200m Dash, 3,000m Run, 4x400m Relay
Saturday Events (Men): High Jump, Shot Put, Pole Vault, Triple Jump, Distance Medley Relay, 400m Dash, 600m Run, 200m Dash, 4x400m Relay
THE COMPETITION
School Attending (Number of Competitors): Penn State (63), Virginia (54), Guelph (53), Penn (52), UNC (49), Duke (43), Buffalo (38), Villanova (38), Kent State (36), Akron (35), Findlay (34), Army (29), William & Mary (26), Coppin State (25), UMBC (24), Ashland (23), Bowling Green (23), Delaware (19), Rider (16), Walsh (16), West Virginia (16), Towson (12), Duquesne (11), Mount Union (11), St. Francis (8), Loyola Maryland (3), Bucknell (2), Edinboro (2), Lock Haven (2), Geneva (1)
FULL INDOOR SCHEDULE
Dec. 2-3 – Bison Opener | Lewisburg, Pa.
Dec. 10 – Blue & White Intrasquad Scrimmage | University Park, Pa.
Jan. 14 – Nittany Lion Challenge | University Park, Pa.
Jan. 20-21 – Hokie Invitational | Blacksburg, Va.
Jan. 27-28 – Penn State National Open | University Park, Pa.
Feb. 4 – Sykes & Sabock Challenge | University Park, Pa.
Feb. 10-11 – Music City Invitational | Nashville, Tenn.
Feb. 10-11 – Valentine Invite | Boston, Mass.
Feb. 17 – Penn State Tune Up | University Park, Pa.
Feb. 18 – Alex Wilson Invite | South Bend, Ind.
Feb. 24 – Big Ten Indoor Championships | Geneva, Ohio
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateTFXC) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatetfxc).
