LEWISBURG, Pa. – The Penn State track & field team's weekend of competition at the Bison Outdoor Classic expanded the team's depth with multiple season debuts, while also exhibiting the squad's usual level of excellence as it recorded a pair of top-five program marks, along with multiple top ten Big Ten performances.
"Penn State Track and Field took another step toward success in the postseason with some excellent performances at the Bison Outdoor Classic," said head coach John Gondak. "It was a great weekend weather-wise, and our student-athletes took advantage of it. We added numerous top-ten Big Ten performances and NCAA first round performances that keep the momentum of the season going for us. We look forward to getting back to work at Virginia next weekend."
Gondak's squad started out with a bang on Saturday night, setting both top-five program marks on its first day of competition. Faith DeMars became just the third Penn State woman to break 10:00 in the steeplechase, joining Bridget Franek (9:32.35, 2010) and Tori Gerlach (9:46.76, 2017) with a personal-best 9:59.54. Additionally, Kileigh Kane followed right behind teammate Maddie Ullom to set the No. 4 all-time 1500m mark in Penn State history with a 4:16.66, finishing third overall.
FRIDAY EVENT SUMMARY
DeMars and Makenna Krebs started hot for Penn State on Friday night. DeMars finished in first place overall in her first steeplechase race of the season, with Makenna Krebs finishing second with a 10:17.14 in her own steeplechase season debut. On the men's side, Josh Lewis bested his previous personal record by over 40 seconds, running a 9:03.54 to come in fourth place.
In the 1500, Ullom led the way for the Nittany Lion women, running a 4:16.05 to finish second overall. Ullom is the current No. 2 all-time for the Nittany Lions in the event. Kane finished right behind her with a 4:16.66 PR to claim the fourth spot on that list. Sophia Toti finished seventh with a 4:22.24 PR and Lea Hatcher posted a 4:27.15 PR, crossing the line in 13th. For the men's squad, a personal-best 3:44.67 from Jonah Powell led to a third-place finish with Drew Maher's 8th-place time of 3:45.73 serving as the Nittany Lions' top times in the event.
In the men's pole vault, Jonathan Petersen (15-7 (4.75m)) and Tristan McGarrah (15-7 (4.75m)) each set season-best marks to finish sixth and eighth place, respectively.
Personal records led the way for both the men's and women's 5K squads for Penn State as the evening began to wind down. For the men, Behailu Bekele-Arcuri ran a 14:26.39 to finish 14th overall while Libby Benzer posted a 16:55.94 to finish ninth on the women's side.
Payton Sewall, the Nittany Lions' lone 10K entrant, finished the night with a 30:07.80, beating his previous personal best by over 40 seconds. The time slots into No. 6 in the Big Ten conference.
SATURDAY EVENT SUMMARY
Penn State started competition on Sunday morning with a win in the women's 4x100-meter relay. The Nittany Lions' time of 45.56, run by Zoey Goldstein, Jermecia Brown, Jane Madson, and Lauren Princz, is good for seventh in the Big Ten.
Victoria Vanriele made her season debut in the 800m, claiming second place with a 2:08.47. Lea Hatcher, also making her season debut, ran a 2:11.27 to finish eighth, while Isabella Culver set a PR with a 2:12.88 to finish 15th. For the men, Evan Dorenkamp (1:48.47 PR) and Yukichi Ishii (1:48.50) went 1-2 in the event, setting the sixth and seventh-best marks in the Big Ten, giving Penn State six of the top seven marks in the entire conference, bolstering the No. 16 Nittany Lions' position.
In the 400, Goldstein ran her second event of the day, finishing third overall with a 55.51. For the men, freshman Austin Gallant posted a personal-best 47.83 to claim fourth place. The sprinters kept things going for Penn State, as Brown stepped up to the line for the second time this afternoon and smashed her personal-best mark in the 100m, recording a 11.75 to finish third. Closing out competition on the track for Penn State, Madson posted a 24.79 in the 200m for a ninth-place finish.
In the women's pole vault, Hailey Zurich earned an event win with a season-best 12-11.5 (3.95m) clearance. Capping off a light weekend for the Nittany Lions in the field events, Audrey Friedman posted a fourth-place finish in the javelin throw, with her best throw traveling 137-9 (42.00m).
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions will divide the squad next weekend with members heading to Charlottesville for the Virginia Challenge and others traveling back to Lewisburg for the Bucknell Team Challenge.
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