INDIANAPOLIS – The Penn State track & field team started strong on the first day of competition at the 2025 Big Ten Indoor Track & Field Championships. Maddie Pitts repeated as pentathlon bronze medalist, highlighting four scoring results for the Nittany Lions on day one inside Fall Creek Pavilion.
MEDALISTS
Pitts won her second consecutive bronze medal in the pentathlon, scoring 4,193 points across all five events. The Nittany Lion junior finished second in the hurdles (8.45 PR) and tenth in both the high jump (1.64m) and shot put (12.17m). She then closed out her medal-winning performance with a fifth-place effort in the long jump (5.85m) and a second-place run in the 800m (2:14.08).
POINT SCORERS
On the women’s side, Pitts’ pentathlon bronze lead individual scorers on day one, totaling six points.
Penn State received seven points from two top-eight finishers in the women’s 5K. Florence Caron (16:04.14) finished fourth in the conference, scoring five points, while Sophia Toti (16.17.79) added two points with a seventh-place result.
In the last track event of the day, the Nittany Lion women’s DMR team of Ada Rand, Zoey Goldstein, Tayissa Buchanan and Maddie Ullom clocked an 11:07.30 to take fourth place in the Big Ten.
FINALS QUALIFIERS
W Mile
- Kileigh Kane clocked a 4:43.32, finishing third in her heat, to advance to the mile final.
M 400m
- Jake Palermo posted a 46.57 to finish seventh in the trials and move to the 400m final.
M 60m
- Ajani Dwyer ran a 6.65 to win his 60-meter trials heat and advance to the final.
- Damoy Allen snagged the last timed qualifying spot with a 6.68 mark in the trials.
M 800m
- Yukichi Ishii ran a 1:48.22 to grab the last timed qualifying mark and advance to the men’s 800 final.
W 800m
- Hayley Kitching cruised to a heat-winning 2:05.11 to advance to the 800m final for the third consecutive season.
- Allison Johnson returns to the 800m final with the last timed qualifying mark, a 2:06.64 effort.
M 600m
- Darius Smallwood went 1:15.95 to finish as the top overall qualifier in the 600m.
- Olivier Desmeules finished right behind his teammate, going 1:15.97 as the No. 2 qualifier in the 600-meter trials.
W 600m
- Buchanan’s 1:31.55 earned her the last timed qualifying mark as she advances to the 600-meter final for the first time.
M 200m
- Dwyer’s 20.66 was the third-fastest qualifying mark and pushed the freshman through to the 200m final.
- Allen went sub-21 for the first time this season, going 20.92 to advance to the final.
IN THE RECORD BOOKS
Allen’s 6.68 comes in as the fifth-fastest mark in Penn State history.
UP NEXT
Penn State is set to conclude competition at the Big Ten Indoor Championships tomorrow, beginning at 11:10 a.m.
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