ORLANDO, Fla. – The Penn State track & field team performed well in its outdoor season-opener at UCF. Head Coach John Gondak's squad recorded four top ten program marks through the two-day meet.
All event groups posted strong starts to the season with athletes in the throws, jumps, and sprints squads earning top ten marks in school history.
On Friday it was Samaria McDonald, whose 206-2 (62.85m) throw in the women's hammer competition set the third-best mark in program history. Victoria Atkinson's pole vault win with a clearance of 13-7.25 (4.15m) also set a No. 3 mark ever at Penn State, while Zoey Goldstein's 23.64 in the 200-meters comes in at No. 9 in school history. On Saturday, fellow sprinter Austin Gallant clocked a 46.83 in the men's 400-meters, setting the tenth-fastest time ever run by a Nittany Lion.
FRIDAY TRACK EVENT SUMMARY
Penn State's hurdlers started things off on the track, with freshman Kylie Jacoutot placing sixth in the women's 400-meter hurdles with a 1:01.85 benchmark. Matt DeMatteo clocked a 52.24 to finish third on the men's side.
Goldstein clocked the ninth-fastest outdoor 200-meter dash in school history with a 23.64 wind-legal mark to place eighth overall. Jermecia Brown went 24.15w (+2.4 m/s) for 14th while multi-event athlete Maddie Pitts stopped the clock in 24.45 for 17th. On the men's side, Austin Gallant (21.33w) and James Onwuka (21.42w) finished ninth and tenth with wind-aided marks.
In the 1500-meters, Claire Daniels placed 11th for the women with a 4:36.51. Freshman Kaleb Nastari clocked a 3:47.88 to take sixth in the event for the Nittany Lion men.
FRIDAY FIELD EVENT SUMMARY
Penn State kicked off outdoor season with hammer throw competition. Graduate transfer McDonald recorded the third-best throw in school history to win the women's competition. Her best mark traveled 206-2 (62.85m) and earned her Penn State's first event win of the 2024 outdoor campaign. Sophomore Alex Pancoast went 170-3 (51.89m) in her best throw to finish sixth. On the men's side, Collin Burkhart also earned the win, going 214-0 (65.24m) for the crown in the season opener.
Tesia Thomas finished fourth in the women's long jump, going 20-0.5w (6.11m) (+2.1 m/s) in her best jump of the day. Multi-event athletes Pitts (18-10.5w, 5.75m (+2.4 m/s)) and Chloe Royce (18-8w, 5.69m (+3.8 m/s)) placed 11th and 15th respectively, in a wind-impacted afternoon. For the men, teammates Ahmad Fogg and Emi Erekosima each recorded 22-10.5, (6.97m) jumps to finish eighth and ninth, respectively.
Sophomore Audrey Friedman placed second in the women's javelin throw competition, recording a 145-6 (44.36m) toss. Lauren Shedleski finished ninth with a personal-best 130-8 (39.84m) throw. In the men's competition, coach Nathan Ott's group had three top ten finishers, led by a sixth-place result from Burkhart. The Nittany Lion leader went 204-1 (62.22m) in his second event of the afternoon and was followed by teammate Kevin Bartosh (202-9, 61.81m) in seventh. Chris Fredericks finished tenth with a 195-5 (59.57m) throw.
Atkinson earned the win in the women's pole vault, securing the third-best clearance in Penn State history with a 13-7.25 (4.15m) jump. Hailey Zurich finished fifth, clearing 12-11.5 (3.95m) and Meredith Baham placed sixth, jumping 12-5.5 (3.80m). Tristan McGarrah finished third in the men's competition with a 16-4 (4.98m) outdoor best jump while teammate Jonathan Petersen placed sixth with a 16-0 (4.88m) clearance.
Mallory Kauffman took the women's shot put crown with a 55-5.5 (16.90m) best throw. Pancoast finished sixth in her second event of the day, throwing 44-6.75 (13.58m). Lucciano Pizarro (59-2, 18.03m) and Dylan Lambrecht (57-6.25, 17.53m) went 1-2 in the men's shot put competition.
SATURDAY TRACK EVENT SUMMARY
Yukichi Ishii took home the men's 800-meter crown on Saturday afternoon with a personal-best 1:47.57. In sixth and seventh were true freshman Kaleb Nastari (1:49.28) and sophomore Luke Seymour (1:49.57).
In the women's 100-meter hurdles, Penn State's multi-event athletes showed out in the opener. Royce set a PR with a 14.23 while Pitts (14.71) and Allison Spalding (15.30) also posted solid marks.
Goldstein had another strong outing on Saturday, clocking a 54.30 to finish fourth overall in the women's 400-meters. Freshman Ryleigh Hearn placed 12th in the event with a 56.09. Both Gallant and Onwuka set PRs on the men's side, as Gallant's 46.83 came in as the tenth-fastest 400-meter mark in Penn State history. Gallant placed fourth overall in the 400-meters while Onwuka's 46.90 PR propelled him to fifth. DeMatteo went 48.96 in his flat 400 opener.
Brown placed 11th in the women's 100 with a wind-aided 11.78 (+2.2 m/s) while freshman Dani Prunzik ran a 12.16 and Lauren Princz clocked a 12.18. Patrick Abel went 10.56 on the men's side to claim fourth overall.
SATURDAY FIELD EVENT SUMMARY
Kauffman came just three inches short of her lifetime PR in the women's discus throw, recording a 173-9 (52.97m) for third place. Pancoast, also in her second event of the day, threw 138-9 (42.30m) for 13th.
Royce continued her strong start to the season with a 5-4.25 (1.63m) high jump mark. Gwendolyn Cudmore finished with the same clearance. For the men, true freshman Robert Allen placed second in his first collegiate meet with a 6-9.5 (2.07m) clearance. Timothy Watson and Isaac Osifo placed fifth and sixth, each clearing the bar at 6-8.25 (2.04m).
Thomas finished eighth in the women's triple jump, leaping 40-2.5 (12.25m) in her opener. Freshman Lizzie Schreiber went 38-10.25 (11.84m) in her first outdoor meet, finishing 12th overall. For the men, Erekosima placed fifth with a 46-7.5 (14.21m) best jump.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions embark on a split-squad weekend next week when they send members of their squad to the Raleigh Relays from March 28-30 while others will return to the sunshine state from March 29-30 for the Florida Relays.
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