JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – The Penn State track & field team wrapped up competition at the NCAA East Region Preliminaries by qualifying three additional members of its women's squad to the National Championships in Austin, Texas, on the final day of the meet.
"We had an excellent fourth day of competition down here in Jacksonville for Penn State track & field," said head coach John Gondak. "We punched three more tickets to the National Championships with Hayley [Kitching] and Rachel [Gearing] in the 800 and Faith [DeMars] in the 5K. Very excited to see them advance to the national finals in Austin, Texas. We had some additional athletes do amazing things today and we're very pleased with their efforts. Now we're looking forward to getting back home and training for a week before heading down to Texas to compete in the final round."
Hayley Kitching and Rachel Gearing punched their tickets to Austin in the 800-meter quarterfinals and Faith DeMars advanced in the 5K later on in the evening. Kitching and DeMars will head to the championships for the first time in their respective careers, while Gearing will make her second-straight appearance in the 800 meters.
The women's group will send a total of four entries to Austin this season with two first-time qualifiers and two returners. In total, the Nittany Lions will send 13 individuals to compete in Austin across nine events, the most since the 2017 outdoor campaign where the squad sent 21 to the championships in Oregon.
TRACK EVENT SUMMARY
Makenna Krebs was the first Nittany Lion to hit the oval on day four of the prelims. Krebs ran a 10:28.68 in the steeplechase, closing out her 2023 season with a 25th-place finish in the region.
Gearing and Kitching went next for the Nittany Lions, with Kitching claiming an automatic qualifying spot in heat two as she crossed the line in 2:04.47. Gearing, one day after setting the Penn State program record in the 800 meters in the preliminary round, ran a 2:04.87 to grab a qualifying spot in the national finals for a second consecutive season. Allison Johnson capped off her first outdoor season as a Nittany Lion with a 24th-place finish in the region.
Faith DeMars closed it out for the Nittany Lions on the track, completing another remarkable finish to qualify for the National Championships in the 5,000 meters. DeMars edged Phoebe Anderson of Columbia by less than a half-second with a powerful kick in the final straightaway to claim the fifth and final automatic qualifying time from the first heat. DeMars will contine her incredible season when she heads to Austin for the first time in her career.
FIELD EVENT SUMMARY
In her second event of this year's prelims, Mallory Kauffman went 163-6 (49.83m) in the discus throw, finishing 25th in the region. Kauffman already punched her ticket to Austin in the shot put earlier this week.
Cecelia Bacon and Carlie Wilson wrapped up their 2023 high jump campaigns on Saturday in Jacksonville. Wilson cleared 5-7.75 (1.72m) to tie for 29th in the region.
UP NEXT
Penn State will take 13 athletes to the Outdoor Track & Field National Championships in Austin, Texas, to compete at Mike A. Myers Stadium from June 7-10.
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