UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State will make its last scheduled push before the postseason when it competes in the Larry Ellis Invitational this weekend. The two-day meet begins Friday, May 1 before wrapping up Saturday, May 2.
The Nittany Lions are making their second straight appearance in this meet and several athletes left their mark in the 2025 edition. Jake Palermo won the men’s 200m and 400m, while Brendan Flynn’s 14:37.50 was fast enough to win the men’s 5000m.
Several returning athletes earned runner-up finishes in Princeton last season: Ada Rand (women’s 1500m), Addyson White (women’s 400m hurdles), Matt DeMatteo (men’s 400m hurdles) and Robert Allen (men’s high jump).
NITTANY LIONS LAST WEEK
The blue and white delivered several historic performances at the 130th Penn Relays last week. Thursday’s opening day featured Nick Sloff prevail in the men’s 1500-meter run by a narrow 0.04 seconds. Ryan Watson also recorded the fifth-fastest time in the men’s 3000-meter steeplechase, running a 8:46.52.
Day 2 saw two records rewritten, both by Penn State relay teams. White, Alexandria North, Marie-Eloise LeClair and Hayley Kitching combined to capture the sprint medley, setting a program record at 3:42.35. Carter Fitzgerald, Peyton Sommers, DeMatteo and Palermo recorded the 10th-best time in program history when they clocked a 3:05.39 in the men’s 4x400-meter relay.
Saturday featured the men’s and women’s 4x800-meter relay teams leaving their mark in program history. Allison Johnson, Tayissa Buchanan, Boh Ritchie and Kitching took the women’s competition with a program-record time of 8:18.43. On the men’s side, Yukichi Ishii, Andrew Regnier, Niko Schultz and Allon Clay finished at 7:10.00, a program record as well.
The notable success in the field came on Saturday as well, when Dylan Lambrecht won the men’s shot put championship, throwing a 63-5.50 (19.34m).
WHICH EVENTS THIS WEEK FEATURE A NITTANY LION?
- Women’s 100m: Mimi Duffy, Ryleigh Hearn, North, Dani Prunzik, White
- Women’s 200m: Duffy, Hearn, Prunzik, North (elite)
- Women’s 400m: Duffy, Hearn, North
- Women’s 800m: Buchanan (Friday), Lea Hatcher (Saturday), Johnson (Friday), Kitching (Friday), Maddie Miller (Saturday), Rand (Saturday), Ritchie (Friday)
- Women’s 1500m: Buchanan (Saturday), Katie Dallas (Friday), Allison Doughtery (Friday), Hatcher (Friday), Johnson (Saturday), Kitching (Friday), Eva Kynaston (Friday), Rand (Friday), Claire Zubey (Friday)
- Women’s 5000m: Dallas
- Women’s 400m hurdles: Abasiono Akpan, Kylie Jacoutot, White
- Women’s High Jump: Katie Becker, Gwen Cudmore, Hannah Riolo, Jenna Young
- Women’s Pole Vault: Amelia McBain
- Women’s Shot Put: Sasha Garnett, Skye Petrie-Cameron
- Women’s Hammer: Gabby Cope, Gabi Deglau, Alex Pancoast
- Men’s 400m: Fitzgerald
- Men’s 800m: Fitzgerald (Friday), Kaleb Nastari (Friday), Schultz (Friday), Jackson Smith (Saturday)
- Men’s 1500m: Clay (Friday), Brian DiCola (Friday), Ishii (Friday), Caiden Leen (Friday), Regnier (Saturday), Jacob Smith (Friday), Logan Strawser (Friday), Ryan Watson (Friday)
- Men’s 5000m: Flynn
- Men’s 400m hurdles: DeMatteo
- Men’s 3000m steeplechase: Justin Healey, Strawser
- Men’s Pole Vault: Mason Bucks
- Men’s Long Jump: Kyle Moore, Joe White
- Men’s Shot Put: Sam Engebretson, Brady Mider
- Men’s Discus: Engebretson, Matthew Sarnowski
- Men’s Hammer: Engebretson, Sarnowski
FOLLOW THE NITTANY LIONS
Follow along with the team on our social media pages: Facebook (PennStateTFXC), X and Instagram (both @pennstatetfxc). Live updates on race day regarding weather, start times and other important notes will be posted on X.