JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Penn State track & field team is set for competition at the 2023 NCAA East Regional Preliminary Round, hosted by the University of North Florida from Wednesday, May 24 to Sunday, May 27.
Penn State enters the NCAA East Prelims with 30 individual qualifiers and one relay squad following a successful outing at the Big Ten Championships in its first meet of the postseason. The Nittany Lions earned seven top-three finishes at the outdoor championships, with each one of those medal-winning athletes representing the Blue & White at the NCAA meet.
Competition for the Penn State men will begin on Wednesday at 10 a.m. with Collin Burkhart and Tyler Merkley in the men's hammer throw. The hammer competition will start off the women's side on Thursday morning at 10 a.m. with Penn State's Jean Starr set to make her NCAA East Prelims debut in her senior season.
The top 12 in each event and relay at the meet will earn their chance to compete for an NCAA title at the National Championships in Austin, Texas from June 7-10.
THE COMPETITION
The Nittany Lions are set to compete in the following events on Wednesday:
- M 1500 Prelims (Finals on Friday)
- M 800 Prelims (Finals on Friday)
- M Hammer
- M Javelin
- M Shot Put
- M Pole Vault
Thursday events:
- W 1500 Prelims (Finals on Saturday)
- W 800 Prelims (Finals on Saturday)
- W 10,000
- W Hammer
- W Javelin
- W Shot Put
- W Pole Vault
Friday Events (additional event finals pending qualification):
- M Steeplechase
- M 4x400 Relay
- M Discus
- M High Jump
Saturday events (additional event finals pending qualification)::
- W Steeplechase
- W 5,000
- W Discus
- W High Jump
TUNE IN LIVE
Live Results | ESPN+ Live Streaming Links:
Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday
NITTANY LIONS IN THE RANKINGS
Six Nittany Lions possess top-25 marks in the NCAA heading into the preliminary round of competition. Additionally, Penn State's men's 800-meter squad comes in as the No. 3 group in Division I this week, according to the most recent USTFCCCA #EventSquad rankings. The women's 800-meter group is tied for fifth in the NCAA, the men's shot put squad jumped up one spot to eighth, the women's high jump group is eighth, and the women's 1500-meter squad is 15th.
NCAA Top-25
Men's Team
- 5 – Tyler Merkley – Hammer Throw: 241-8 (73.67m)
- 15 – Lucciano Pizarro – Shot Put: 65-0.75 (19.83m)
- 22 – Handal Roban – 800m: 1:47.29
Women's Team
- 19 – Rachel Gearing – 800m: 2:02.98
- T-22 – Mallory Kauffman – Shot Put: 56-4.75 (17.19m)
- T-22 – Cecelia Bacon – High Jump: 5-11.25 (1.81m)
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateTFXC) and Twitter/Instagram (@pennstatetfxc).