BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Penn State track & field team is set for competition at the 2023 Big Ten Outdoor Track & Field Championships, hosted by Indiana at the Robert C. Haugh Track and Field Complex, from Friday, May 12 to Sunday, May 14.
Penn State enters the postseason following multiple successful weeks of competition. During the last week in April, the Nittany Lions traveled to the Penn Relays and battled the elements, setting two school records throughout the weekend. Tyler Merkley cleared 73 meters in the hammer throw for the first time, increasing his claim to the Penn State record in the event. Additionally, even though it is not a sanctioned Big Ten event, the women's 4x800 relay squad broke the school record, taking home the Championship of America wheel for the second consecutive year.
This past weekend, Jean Starr capped off the regular season for the Nittany Lions with the fifth-best hammer throw effort in school history. Her 192-9 (58.75m) throw earned her the first Big Ten Women's Field Athlete of the Week honor of her career as the team prepares for competition in Bloomington.
THE COMPETITION
The Nittany Lions are set to compete in the following events on Friday:
- Heptathlon
- M/W Hammer Throw
- M Pole Vault
- M/W Javelin Throw
- M/W 200m
- M/W 1,500m Trials (Finals on Sunday)
- W 10,000m Finals
Saturday Events:
- Heptathlon (continued)
- M/W Shot Put
- W 100m Trials (Finals on Sunday)
- M/W Long Jump
- M High Jump
- M/W 400m Trials (Finals on Sunday)
- M/W 800m Trials (Finals on Sunday)
- M/W 3,000m Steeplechase
Sunday Events (plus finals for qualifying athletes):
- M/W Discus
- W Pole Vault
- W High Jump
- W 4x100m Relay
- M/W 5,000m
- M/W 4x400m
BIG TEN CHAMPIONSHIPS HISTORY
At the 2023 Big Ten Indoor Championships, the Nittany Lions claimed three individual titles. Rachel Gearing and Olivier Desmeules each took home their respective 800-meter run title while Faith DeMars won the 5,000-meter run.
The Nittany Lions enter this season's conference meet with five medalists from last year's outdoor Big Ten Championships vying for top spots once again in 2023. Merkley (2nd, hammer), Sophia Toti (2nd, 10K), Kevin Bartosh (2nd, javelin), Gearing (3rd, 800m), and Maddie Ullom (3rd, 1500m) all medaled last season for Penn State. The women's team finished fourth (82.5 points) in the conference while the men's team finished seventh (61 points).
TUNE IN LIVE
Live Results | Big Ten Plus Live Streaming Links:
Friday:
Track: https://www.bigtenplus.com/en-int/playerpage/1609084
Field: https://www.bigtenplus.com/en-int/playerpage/1609738
Saturday:
Track: https://www.bigtenplus.com/en-int/playerpage/1609088
Field: https://www.bigtenplus.com/en-int/playerpage/1609090
Sunday:
Track: https://www.bigtenplus.com/en-int/playerpage/1609097
Field: https://www.bigtenplus.com/en-int/playerpage/1609095
NITTANY LIONS IN THE RANKINGS
The Nittany Lions have seven top-25 marks in the NCAA and 36 top-ten marks in the Big Ten conference as it prepares for competition on Friday. Penn State's men's 800-meter squad comes in as the No. 2 group in Division I this week, according to the most recent USTFCCCA #EventSquad rankings. The women's 800-meter group is tied for fourth in the NCAA, the men's shot put squad is ninth, the women's high jump group is 11th, and the women's 1500-meter squad is 15th.
NCAA Top-25
Men's Team
- 5 – Tyler Merkley – Hammer Throw: 241-6 (73.61m)
- 16 – Handal Roban – 800m: 1:47.29
- 25 – Darius Smallwood – 800m: 1:47.67
Women's Team
- 16 – Rachel Gearing – 800m: 2:02.98
- 19 – Mallory Kauffman – Shot Put: 56-2 (17.12m)
- T-19 – Cecelia Bacon – High Jump: 5-11.25 (1.81m)
- 25 – Faith DeMars – 5000m: 15:44.98
Big Ten Top Ten
Men's Team
400m
- 9 – James Onwuka – 46.91
- 10 – Austin Gallant – 47.03
800m
- 3 – Handal Roban – 1:47.29
- 4 – Darius Smallwood – 1:47.67
- 5 – Callum Dodds – 1:47.80
- 6 – Olivier Desmeules – 1:48.13
- 8 – Evan Dorenkamp – 1:48.47
- 9 – Yukichi Ishii – 1:48.50
- 10 – Carter Fitzgerald – 1:48.65
1500m
- 4 – Evan Dorenkamp – 3:40.30
10,000m
- 6 – Payton Sewall – 30:07.80
3,000m Steeplechase
- 5 – Josh Lewis – 8:54.27
4x400m Relay
- 4 – Gallant, Hebron, Dodds, Onwuka – 4x400m – 3:06.17
Pole Vault
- 6 – Luke Knipe – 17-0.75 (5.20m)
Hammer Throw
- 2 – Tyler Merkley – 241-6 (73.61m)
- 8 – Collin Burkhart – 214-8 (65.43m)
Javelin
- 5 – Collin Burkhart – 230-5 (70.23m)
- 9 – Kevin Bartosh – 221-6 (67.51m)
Women's Team
800m
- 4 – Rachel Gearing – 2:02.98
- 5 – Hayley Kitching – 2:04.33
- 8 – Allison Johnson – 2:05.21
1500m
- 5 – Maddie Ullom – 4:16.05
- 6 – Kileigh Kane – 4:16.66
5000m
- 2 – Faith DeMars – 15:44.98
10,000m
- 8 – Sophia Toti – 34:02.31
3,000m Steeplechase
- 3 – Faith DeMars – 9:59.54
- 5 – Makenna Krebs – 10:15.59
4x100m Relay
- 7 – Goldstein, Brown, Madson, Princz – 45.56
4x400m Relay
- 6 – Madson, Brown, Goldstein, Gearing – 3:41.44
High Jump
- T-2 – Cecelia Bacon – 5-11.25 (1.81m)
Pole Vault
- T-5 – Hailey Zurich – 13-5.25 (4.10m)
Shot Put
- 3 – Mallory Kauffman – 56-2 (17.12m)
Discus
- 8 – Mallory Kauffman – 172-8 (52.64m)
Hammer Throw
- 8 – Jean Starr – 192-9 (58.75m)
Javelin
- 9 – Audrey Friedman – 151-9 (46.26m)
Heptathlon
- 3 – Maddie Pitts – 5,075
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateTFXC) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatetfxc).