UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State track & field team, led by Head Coach John Gondak, announced its complete 2023-24 indoor/outdoor competition schedule, including five total home meets.
"We are excited that the 2023-24 track season is right around the corner," said Gondak. "We set up an excellent schedule this year that will challenge us and prepare us for the postseason. We had some great successes last year that we want to build off with our outstanding group this year."
Penn State will begin its indoor campaign with a trip to Bucknell for the Bison Opener from Dec. 1-2. Following the season-opener, the Nittany Lions will host their annual Blue & White Intrasquad Scrimmage on Saturday, Dec. 9 at the Multi-Sport Facility & Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track.
After the new year, Penn State is set to return to action on Saturday, Jan. 13 at home when the team hosts the Nittany Lion Challenge. Following a trip to Michigan for the Simmons-Harvey Invitational on Jan. 20, Penn State is set to hold two consecutive home meets in Happy Valley. The Multi-Sport Facility & Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track will host The Penn State National Open on Jan. 26-27 and the Sykes & Sabock Challenge on Feb. 3 before the Nittany Lions hit the road once again.
A split-squad weekend on Feb. 9-10 will send members of the squad to the Tiger Paw Invite at Clemson and the David Hemery Valentine Invitational at Boston. The Valentine Invite proved an excellent outing for the Nittany Lions last season, with Faith DeMars breaking the school record for the women's indoor 3K and Brandon Hontz becoming Penn State's sixth sub-4:00 miler at the meet.
The Nittany Lions will host their final regular season meet, the Penn State Tune-Up, on Feb. 16, one week before the postseason slate is set to begin.
Penn State will travel to the SPIRE Academy in Geneva, Ohio for the Big Ten Indoor Championships on Feb. 23-24. Penn State claimed three individual Big Ten Titles last indoor season. Pending qualification, the Nittany Lions will then head to the NCAA Indoor Championships in Boston on March 8-9. Last year, Handal Roban emerged as the NCAA's 800-meter bronze medalist at the indoor championship meet.
Outdoor season for the Nittany Lions will start on March 16 when they travel to West Virginia for the WVU Invite. Penn State will then make their first of three trips to Florida, heading to Orlando for the UCF Knights Invite from March 22-23. The following weekend (March 28-30), the Nittany Lions will split their squad, with select members returning to the Florida Relays and others to the Raleigh Relays.
Nittany Lions are set to take part in the Miami Invitational on April 5-6. Then, Penn State will attend the Bison Outdoor Classic from April 13-14 and the Virginia Classic from April 19-20. The last weekend of April is reserved for the Penn Relays, and the Nittany Lions are set to return to the historic meet once more, this year from April 25-27. At the 2023 relays, the Nittany Lions' women's 4x800 team claimed its second-straight 4x800 Championship of America in school-record time.
Penn State will then host its one and only home meet of the season on May 3. The Jim Thorpe Invite will serve as the team's final regular season tune-up before the postseason calendar begins.
The Nittany Lions' postseason schedule begins on May 10 with a trip to Ann Arbor, Michigan for the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. DeMars won Penn State's sole Big Ten Outdoor Title last season, becoming the first Penn State woman to win the 5K at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships.
Select Nittany Lions will then make the trip to Lexington, Kentucky from May 22-25 for the NCAA East Preliminaries. Pending qualification, the Nittany Lions will conclude their season at the 2024 NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, which return to Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon from June 5-8. Penn State produced four First Team All-Americans at last season's championships, highlighted by Roban's second NCAA Bronze of 2023.
FULL SCHEDULE
Indoor Season
Dec. 1-2 – Bison Opener | Lewisburg, Pa.
Dec. 9 – Blue & White Intrasquad | University Park, Pa.
Jan. 13 – Nittany Lion Challenge | University Park, Pa.
Jan. 20 – Simmons-Harvey Invitational | Ann Arbor, Mich.
Jan. 26-27 – Penn State National Open | University Park, Pa.
Feb. 3 – Sykes Sabock Invitational | University Park, Pa.
Feb. 9-10 – Tiger Paw Invite | Clemson, S.C.
Feb. 9-10 – David Hemery Valentine Invitational | Boston, Mass.
Feb. 16 – Penn State Tune-Up | University Park, Pa.
Feb. 23-24 – Big Ten Indoor Championships | Geneva, Ohio
Mar. 8-9 – NCAA Indoor Championships | Boston, Mass.
Outdoor Season
Mar. 16 – WVU Invite | Morgantown, W.V.
Mar. 22-23 – UCF Knights Invite | Orlando, Fla.
Mar. 28-30 – Raleigh Relays | Raleigh, N.C.
Mar. 29-30 – Florida Relays | Gainesville, Fla.
Apr. 5-6 – Miami Invitational | Miami, Fla.
Apr. 13-14 – Bison Outdoor Classic | Lewisburg, Pa.
Apr. 19-20 – Virginia Classic | Charlottesville, Va.
Apr. 25-27 – Penn Relays | Philadelphia, Pa.
May 3 – Jim Thorpe Open | University Park, Pa.
May 10-12 – Big Ten Outdoor Championships | Ann Arbor, Mich.
May 22-25 – NCAA East Region Preliminaries | Lexington, Ky.
June 5-8 – NCAA Outdoor Championships | Eugene, Ore.
June 21-30 – USATF Olympic Trials | Eugene, Ore.
