UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State track & field's Cheickna Traore and Hayley Kitching earned Big Ten Track weekly honors following their record-setting outings at the Florida Relays. In total, the duo recorded five top-ten program marks, including three school records, during competition this past weekend.
THE HONOREES
Cheickna Traore – Big Ten Men's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week
Traore set two Penn State school records in his outdoor season-opener at the Florida Relays this past weekend. First, he tied the 38-year-old program record in the 200-meter dash with a 20.23 in his winning effort on Friday afternoon. His Ivorian National record and lifetime-best mark currently ranks No. 7 in the world and No. 2 in Division I in the early going of the 2024 outdoor season. He followed that up with a school record-setting 10.26 in the 100-meter dash on Saturday afternoon, recording the No. 4 mark in the Big Ten in the event this season. He then anchored Penn State's 4x400 relay squad to a 3:06.80, tying the ninth-best mark in Penn State history in the event to close out competition at the Florida Relays on Saturday evening. Traore now owns Penn State records in the indoor 60 and 200-meters as well as the outdoor 100 and 200-meters.
The star sprinter earns his third Big Ten weekly accolade of the 2023-24 campaign, and his first this outdoor season.
Hayley Kitching – Big Ten Women's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week
Kitching recorded an outstanding season-opener at the Florida Relays this past weekend. The Coffs Harbour, Australia native set Penn State's outdoor 800-meter school record with a 2:01.17 on Saturday, following her career-best 1500-meter outing on Friday evening in which she posted a 4:14.75. Kitching's Penn State school record-setting 800-meter mark is currently No. 2 in all of Division I while her 1500-meter time is No. 11. With her performance this past weekend, Kitching now owns both Penn State's indoor and outdoor 800-meter school records with sub 2:02 times.
The Penn State middle-distance runner earns her third Big Ten weekly accolade this season, her first of the outdoor campaign.
Traore and Kitching collect Penn State's ninth and tenth conference weekly awards of the 2023-24 track & field campaign, the team's second and third honors of the outdoor season. The ten conference weekly awards is the most Penn State has earned in a year since it also won ten in 2015.
PENN STATE'S 2023-24 BIG TEN TRACK & FIELD WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS
April 4 – Cheickna Traore – Sprints – Men's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week
April 4 – Hayley Kitching – Mid-Distance – Women's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week
March 28 – Yukichi Ishii – Mid-Distance – Men's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week
Feb. 21 – Kileigh Kane – Mid-Distance – Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
Feb. 14 – Kileigh Kane – Mid-Distance – Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
Feb. 7 – Cheickna Traore – Sprints – Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
Jan. 31 – Olivier Desmeules – Mid-Distance – Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
Jan. 31 – Hayley Kitching – Mid-Distance – Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
Jan. 24 – Hayley Kitching – Mid-Distance – Women's Indoor Co-Track Athlete of the Week
Jan. 17 – Cheickna Traore – Sprints – Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
LOOKING AHEAD
The Nittany Lions are set for a trip to Miami this weekend for the Hurricane Alumni Invitational on Friday, April 5 and Saturday, April 6.