UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State track & field team will stay close to home this weekend, traveling down the road to Bucknell for the Bison Outdoor Classic on Saturday, April 15, and Sunday, April 16.
The Nittany Lion men's squad is ranked No. 16 in the nation, its highest placement since it came in at the same spot in the preseason poll before the 2018 season. Head coach John Gondak's group used another outstanding meet, this time at LSU's Lloyd Willis Invitational, to bolster its top marks in the nation and in the conference.
This week, the Nittany Lions will aim to compete in distance races with the squad's previously-planned steeplechase and 5K entries being rained out at Duke last week. Penn State enters the second half of its outdoor campaign with multiple top meets on the horizon. Next week, the squad will travel to the Virginia Grand Prix before heading to Philadelphia for the Penn Relays the following weekend.
THE COMPETITION
Penn State will have athletes compete in the following track events:
Saturday: M/W 3K Steeplechase, M/W 1500 Invite, M/W 5K Invite, M 10K Invite
Sunday: W 4x100m, M/W 800m, M/W 400m, M/W 100m, M 400mH, M/W 200m
The Nittany Lions will also have athletes compete in the following field events:
Saturday: M Pole Vault Invite
Sunday: W Pole Vault Invite, W Javelin
NITTANY LIONS IN THE RANKINGS
Penn State has 14 top-25 marks in the NCAA and 33 top-ten marks in the Big Ten conference as it prepares for competition at Bucknell. The Nittany Lions also have both 800-meter event squads ranked top-two in all of Division I by the USTFCCCA.
NCAA Top-25
No. 16 Men's Team
- 4 – Handal Roban – 800m: 1:47.29
- 4 – Evan Dorenkamp – 1500m: 3:40.30
- 6 – Tyler Merkley – Hammer Throw: 234-8 (71.53m)
- 6 – Darius Smallwood – 800m: 1:47.67
- 8 – Callum Dodds – 800m: 1:47.80
- 15 – Olivier Desmeules – 800m: 1:48.41
- 21 – Collin Burkhart – Javelin: 230-5 (70.23m)
Women's Team
- 6 – Rachel Gearing – 800m: 2:03.64
- 9 – Mallory Kauffman – Shot Put: 56-2 (17.12m)
- 11 – Hayley Kitching – 800m: 2:04.33
- T-11 – Cecelia Bacon – High Jump: 5-11.25 (1.81m)
- 11 – Faith DeMars – 5000m: 15:44.98
- 21 – Maddie Ullom – 1500m: 4:16.75
- 22 – Allison Johnson – 800m: 2:05.21
Big Ten Top Ten
No. 16 Men's Team
400m
- 4 – James Onwuka – 46.91
- 7 – Callum Dodds – 47.36
- 8 – Handal Roban – 47.37
800m
- 1 – Handal Roban – 1:47.29
- 2 – Darius Smallwood – 1:47.67
- 3 – Callum Dodds – 1:47.80
- 4 – Olivier Desmeules – 1:48.41
- 8 – Carter Fitzgerald – 1:49.03
1500m
- 2 – Evan Dorenkamp – 3:40.30
- 8 – Drew Maher – 3:44.11
4x400m Relay
- 5 – Smallwood, Dodds, Roban, Desmeules – 4x400m – 3:08.57
Pole Vault
- 7 – Luke Knipe – 16-7.25 (5.06m)
Shot Put
- 9 – Lucciano Pizarro – 60-8 (18.49m)
Discus
- 10 – Tyler Merkley – 180-8 (55.06m)
Hammer Throw
- 2 – Tyler Merkley – 236-11 (72.21m)
- 8 – Collin Burkhart – 214-8 (65.43m)
Javelin
- 4 – Collin Burkhart – 230-5 (70.23m)
- 8 – Kevin Bartosh – 219-10 (67.02m)
Women's Team
400m
- 10 – Rachel Gearing – 54.54
800m
- 2 – Rachel Gearing – 2:03.64
- 3 – Hayley Kitching – 2:04.33
- 5 – Allison Johnson – 2:05.21
1500m
- 2 – Maddie Ullom – 4:16.75
5000m
- 2 – Faith DeMars – 15:44.98
- 10 – Sophia Toti – 16:27.10
4x400m Relay
- 5 – Madson, Brown, Goldstein, Gearing – 3:41.44
High Jump
- 2 – Cecelia Bacon – 5-11.25 (1.81m)
Pole Vault
- T-8 – Hailey Zurich – 12-9.5 (3.90m)
Long Jump
- T-8 – Chloe Royce – 19-9.5 (6.03m)
Shot Put
- 1 – Mallory Kauffman – 56-2 (17.12m)
Discus
- 7 – Mallory Kauffman – 172-8 (52.64m)
Hammer Throw
- 7 – Jean Starr – 186-5 (56.81m)
Javelin
- 6 – Audrey Friedman – 151-9 (46.26m)
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateTFXC) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatetfxc).