UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State concluded the first day of competition at the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships on Friday.
Highlights from the opening day included Maddie Pitts placing fifth out of 16 competitors in the women’s pentathlon with 4,356 points, an improvement from her ninth-place finish in 2025. Five Nittany Lions also qualified for the championships in their respective races.
EVENT SUMMARY
Pitts began the pentathlon in the 60-meter hurdles, setting a personal best with an 8.19, the fastest in the field. Her score was the third-fastest in program history and broke her previous best by 0.15 seconds. She then set her second personal best in as many events, clearing 5-6.50 (1.69m) in the high jump.
The senior continued with a third-place 41-9.75 (12.74m) in the shot put before a 19-4.75 (5.91 m) in the long jump put her within striking distance of a top-five finish. Pitts then clocked a fourth-place 2:14.80 in the 800-meter run, good enough for a fifth-place overall finish.
Ajani Dwyer became the first Penn State athlete to qualify for the Saturday championship when he earned the seventh of eight spots in the 60-meter dash. He ran a 6.56, barely avoiding a tiebreaker that determined the final spot.
In the men’s 400-meter dash, Jake Palermo qualified for Saturday’s championship after placing seventh in the 16-man field with a 45.77, barely missing his personal best.
The final three Nittany Lions who qualified for Saturday all came from the men’s 800-meter run. Handal Roban and Allon Clay both qualified after placing in the top three in their respective heats. Yukichi Ishii joined them after his time was the fastest among the remaining runners.
In the last event of the night, the men’s distance relay team of Kaleb Nastari, Matt DeMatteo, Niko Schultz and Nick Sloff etched their names into the record book. The team posted a 9:32.87 in the event, the sixth-fastest time in program history.
UP NEXT
The blue and white continue their performance at the indoor national championship Saturday. Ryan Henry and Dylan Lambrecht will compete in the shot put, joining the five qualifiers in the field. Saturday’s events begin at 1 p.m.