UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State track and field squad is set to host its largest home meet of the 2023-24 indoor campaign when it welcomes over 35 schools to Happy Valley for the Penn State National Open on Friday, Jan. 26 and Saturday, Jan. 27. Friday competition will begin with the multi-events at 11:45 a.m.
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
PARKING: Due to the volume of events taking place around campus on Friday and Saturday, spectators are encouraged to pre-pay for parking via ParkMobile. Additional information on athletics event parking can be found HERE.
CONCESSIONS: Limited concessions will be available upon entry into the Multi-Sport Facility. Friday, concessions will be available from 3-8 p.m. while Saturday, they will be available from 11 a.m.-4 p.m.
PROMOTIONS: Little Lion Lap
Saturday at 1 p.m., any youngsters in the crowd, grades K-6, will be able to run a lap of the Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track alongside our very own Nittany Lion! There is no prior registration needed, and any children wishing to participate should be at the track by 12:45.
MEET INFO: Live Results | B1G+ Live Stream (Friday) | B1G+ Live Stream (Saturday)
FIELD EVENTS: Heptathlon, Pentathlon, M/W Weight Throw, M/W Pole Vault, M/W Long Jump, M/W High Jump, M/W Shot Put, M/W Triple Jump
TRACK EVENTS: M/W 60mH, M/W 60m, M/W Mile, M/W 800m, M/W 5000m, M/W DMR, M/W 400m, M/W 600m, M/W 1000m, M/W 200m, M/W 3000m, M/W 4x400m
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS
TEAMS ATTENDING: Akron M/W, Binghamton W, Bowling Green M/W, Bucknell M/W, Buffalo M/W, Canisius M/W, Colgate M/W, Coppin State M/W, Duuesne M/W, FDU M/W, Geneva M/W, Georgetown M/W, Guelph M/W, Hampton M/W, James Madison W, John Carroll M/W, Lake Erie M/W, Liberty M/W, Lock Haven M/W, Mansfield M/W, Morgan State M/W, Norfolk State M/W, North Carolina M/W, Ohio M/W, Penn M/W, Penn State M/W, Pitt M/W, Princeton M, St. Francis M/W, Towson W, UMBC M/W, Villanova M/W, Virginia M/W, Virginia Tech M/W, West Virginia W, Western Ontario M/W
The Nittany Lions performed extraordinarily well last time out in Michigan in the Simmons-Harvey Invitational. Cheickna Traore set two Penn State school records, one in the 60m and one in the 200m, while Hayley Kitching topped the school record books in the 600. All three times placed inside the top 15 in the nation in the respective events, with Traore's 200m and Kitching's 600m landing inside the top three.
In addition to the record-breaking feats of Traore and Kitching, multiple Nittany Lions achieved personal bests and event wins throughout the day. Penn State finished second in both the men's and women's scored meets. The Nittany Lions used the scored meet opportunity to get a taste of postseason competition before the regular season comes to a close at the end of February.
Thanks to her outstanding effort at the Simmons-Harvey Invitational, Kitching was awarded Big Ten Women's Indoor Co-Athlete of the Week honors. It marked the second-straight week a Nittany Lion earned a conference honor, following Traore's win after his performance at the Nittany Lion Challenge.
Penn State will seek to continue its momentum into its biggest home event of the season on Friday and Saturday.
FULL 2023-24 INDOOR TRACK & FIELD SCHEDULE
Dec. 1-2 – Bison Opener | Lewisburg, Pa.
Dec. 2 – Sharon Colyear-Danville Season Opener | Boston, Mass.
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.
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