Track & Field Earns Seven All-America Honors on Day One of NCAA Indoor ChampionshipsTrack & Field Earns Seven All-America Honors on Day One of NCAA Indoor Championships
Bernard England

Track & Field Earns Seven All-America Honors on Day One of NCAA Indoor Championships

Desmeules advances to 800m final

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va.– The Penn State track & field team collected seven All-America citations on the first day of the 2025 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships at the Virginia Beach Sports Center.

ALL-AMERICANS

Pentathlon – Pitts, Second Team, 9th

  • Maddie Pitts finished ninth in the country, tying her own No. 3 mark in school history with 4,229 points in the pentathlon. She became an All-American for the first time in her career, earning Second Team honors.
  • Pitts set PRs in the 60-meter hurdles (8.38) and long jump (19-8.75, 6.01m) on her way to an outstanding score.

M 800m – Ishii, Second Team, 9th

  • Yukichi Ishii finished just outside of a qualifying time to the final with a 1:47.55, taking ninth place in his first NCAA Indoor Championships appearance in the 800m and earning Second Team All-America honors for the second time in his career.

M 400m – Palermo, Second Team, 10th

  • Freshman Jake Palermo placed tenth in the nation in the 400-meter semifinals, clocking a 46.48 to take home Second Team All-America honors.

M 60m – Dwyer, Second Team, 12th

  • Freshman sensation Ajani Dwyer took 12th overall in the 60-meter semifinals, running a 6.60 in his first NCAA Championships appearance. Dwyer earned Second Team All-America recognition for his efforts.

W 5K – Caron, Second Team, 13th

  • Florence Caron placed 13th overall in the women’s 5K, securing All-America honors at the NCAA Indoor Championships for the second consecutive season after earning First Team recognition last season on the women’s DMR team.

M 800m – Smallwood, Second Team, 13th

  • In his first NCAA Championships appearance, Darius Smallwood finished 13th in the nation, bringing home Second Team All-America honors.

W 800m – Kitching, Second Team, 15th

  • Hayley Kitching earned her third consecutive All-America honor in the women’s 800-meters, finishing 15th in the country with a 2:03.45.
  • Kitching was a two-time First Teamer in the 800m last season and adds another accolade to her impressive resume at Penn State.

FINALS QUALIFIERS

M 800m

  • With a 1:47.51 that barely edged out his own teammate, Ishii, Olivier Desmeules advanced to the NCAA 800-meter final. Desmeules will compete in the 800-meter final for the first time in his career.

UP NEXT

Desmeules will conclude Penn State’s outing at the NCAA Indoor Championships with his appearance in the men’s 800-meter finals, which is set to begin at 7:50 p.m. on Saturday, March 15.

FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS 

Follow along with the team on our social media pages on Facebook (PennStateTFXC) and X/Instagram (@pennstatetfxc).