GENEVA, Ohio – The Penn State track & field team earned 11 medals, including six conference titles, on the final day of competition at the 2024 Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships.
Head Coach John Gondak's Penn State group was the only school in the Big Ten to place both its men's and women's teams in the top three of the final standings, as the women came in second (87 pts) and the men finished third (88 pts).
Wisconsin took the top spot on the men's side, collecting 122 points, while Illinois' 104 points earned the win in the women's competition.
INDIVIDUAL TITLE WINNERS
Cheickna Traore dominated the championships for the Nittany Lions, earning three Big Ten titles on Saturday. Traore re-set his own school record with a 6.54 to win the men's 60m, clocked a 20.44 to win the men's 200m, and anchored the title-winning men's 4x400-meter relay team (Gallant, Martino, Onwuka) to earn his three titles. Traore became Penn State's first-ever indoor 200-meter Big Ten Champion.
Likewise, Hayley Kitching breezed past the competition for a pair of titles, herself. The Australian took the women's 800-meter title in 2:04.08, finishing a full second ahead of the next-fastest runner. She followed that up with an incredible school record-shattering run in the 600-meters where she clocked a 1:26.97.
Handal Roban earned his first career Big Ten title in the 600-meter run, stopping the clock in 1:15.53, the third-fastest time in Penn State history.
BIG TEN MEDALISTS
Kileigh Kane continued the medal count for the Nittany Lions, collecting a silver in the mile with a 4:37.23. Evan Dorenkamp also earned a silver in the mile for the men's squad, clocking a 4:06.17 for second in the conference.
Traore's triple began with a school record-setting 6.54 in the 60-meter dash.
Kitching followed with her first title of the day, securing first in the women's 800 with a 2:04.08. Handal Roban earned bronze in the men's 800 with a 1:48.48, his first of two medals on Satruday.
In the women's shot put, Mallory Kauffman recorded a season-best 55-9.25 (17.00m) throw to earn a silver medal,her highest finish at the Big Ten Championships in her career.
Penn State swept the men's and women's 600-meter titles, with Kitching (1:26.97 school record) and Roban (1:15.53) earning wins. Carter Fitzgerald won bronze on the men's side as well, going 1:16.59.
Traore's 200-meter title followed the 600-meter wins, as Traore clocked a 20.44 for the win, becoming Penn State's first 200-meter Big Ten Indoor champion.
Penn State closed out competition with a title in the men's 4x400-meter relay. Austin Gallant, Korbin Martino, James Onwuka, and Traore posted a 3:06.36 to win the event, the fifth-fastest indoor 4x400 in school history.
ADDITIONAL SCORING FINISHES
In the women's mile, Florence Caron (4:39.79) and Maddie Ullom (4:40.29) placed seventh and eighth, respectively, picking up three points for the Nittany Lion women.
Austin Gallant's 46.96 PR in the men's 400-meters placed him sixth in the conference, earning three points for the Penn State men.
Olivier Desmeules (1:49.61) placed sixth in the men's 800 while true freshman Kaleb Nastari (1:50.48) finished eighth overall in his first taste of conference championship action.
Following Kitching's school record-setting performance, Victoria Vanriele went 1:29.96 for fifth overall in the women's 600-meters. Desmeules secured fourth place in the men's 600, netting five more points for the Penn State men.
In the women's 3,000-meters, Sophia Toti, yesterday's women's 5K bronze medalist, finished seventh in the 3K, while Caron, yesterday's 5K silver medalist, placed eighth.
Isaac Osifo set a personal-best mark with a 7-0.5 (2.15m) high jump clearance, tying him at fourth in the Big Ten, earning 4.5 points for the Penn State men.
Lucciano Pizarro finished eighth in the Big Ten with a 60-8.5 (18.50m) season-best shot put mark.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions await final confirmation on entries to the 2024 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships. The meet will take place in Boston at New Balance's the TRACK facility on March 8 and 9.
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