UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – The Penn State track and field team is scheduled to compete in the NCAA East Region Preliminaries from Wednesday, May 22 to Saturday, May 25 in Lexington, Ky. 31 Nittany Lion entries will seek to punch tickets to the NCAA Outdoor Championships during the four-day regional meet hosted by Kentucky at the university's Outdoor Track & Field Facility.
MEET INFO: Live Results | Championship Central | Schedule of Events
ESPN+ LIVE STREAMS: Wednesday | Thursday | Friday | Saturday
Head Coach John Gondak's Nittany Lions enter NCAA competition with 15 entries for the men's team and 16 for the women's team. Last season, Penn State qualified nine entries to the NCAA Outdoor Championships at the regional meet and aims to replicate that success this season with its excellent group of competing athletes.
PENN STATE QUALIFIERS
The Penn State women are led by four top-ten-ranked athletes in the East Region. Hayley Kitching slots in at No. 5 in the women's 800-meters, Florence Caron and Samaria McDonald are sixth in the 5K and hammer throw, respectively, while Makenna Krebs slots in as the ninth-best qualifier in the steeplechase ahead of this week's regional competition.
Cheickna Traore leads the men's team having qualified in three events (100m, 200m, 4x400m), led by a No. 5 East Region ranking in the 200-meters. Handal Roban joins his teammate with a top-ten ranking, entering competition sixth in the region in the 800-meters.
NCAA East Preliminary participants will compete for a shot to move on to the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Eugene, Oregon. The top 12 in each event and relay at the prelims will earn their chance to compete for a championship in June at Hayward Field.
THE COMPETITION
The Nittany Lions are set to compete in the following events on Wednesday:
- M 1500m First Round (Quarterfinals on Friday)
- M 100m First Round (Quarterfinals on Friday)
- M 800m First Round (Quarterfinals on Friday)
- M 200m First Round (Quarterfinals on Friday)
- M Javelin Throw
- M Pole Vault
- M Shot Put
Thursday Events:
- W 1500m First Round (Quarterfinals on Saturday)
- W 400m First Round (Quarterfinals on Saturday)
- W 800m First Round (Quarterfinals on Saturday)
- W 10K Semifinals
- W Hammer Throw
- W Javelin Throw
- W Pole Vault
Friday Events
- M 1500m Quarterfinals*
- M 100m Quarterfinals*
- M 800m Quarterfinals*
- M 200m Quarterfinals*
- M 4x400m Quarterfinals
- M High Jump
Saturday Events
- W 1500m Quarterfinals*
- W Steeplechase Quarterfinals
- W 400m Quarterfinals*
- W 800m Quarterfinals*
- W 5K Semifinals
* - Pending first round qualification
FULL 2023-24 OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD SCHEDULE
March 22-23 – UCF Knights Invite | Orlando, Fla.
March 28-30 – Raleigh Relays | Raleigh, N.C.
March 29-30 – Florida Relays | Gainesville, Fla.
Apr. 5-6 – Miami Invitational | Coral Gables, 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 Invitational | University Park, Pa.
May 10-12 – Big Ten Outdoor Championships | Ann Arbor, Mich.
May 22-25 – NCAA East Region Prelims | Lexington, Ky.
June 5-8 – NCAA Outdoor Championships | Eugene, Ore.
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateTFXC) and X/Instagram (@pennstatetfxc).