COLLEGIATE PERSONAL BESTS: 600m – 1:26.97*, 800m – 2:00.70*, 1000m – 2:39.86, 1500m – 4:14.75, 4K (XC) – 14:12.8, 6K (XC) – 19:51.2
*denotes school record
CAREER RECORDS, AWARDS, AND NOTES
RECORDS:
7x Penn State school record holder
- Indoor 600m (1:26.97)
- Indoor 800m (2:01.77 – NCAA No. 21 all-time)
- Indoor DMR – 800m leg (10:49.05 – NCAA No. 7 all-time)
- Outdoor 800m – (2:00.70)
- Outdoor 4x1500m (17:09.59 – NCAA No. 5 all-time)
- Outdoor 4x800m (8:23.81 – NCAA No. 8 all-time)
- Outdoor SMR – 800m leg (3:44.66 – NCAA No. 18 all-time)
- Indoor 800m (2:00.01 - NCAA No. 7 all-time)
- Indoor 1000m (2:38.45 - NCAA No. 1 all-time)
No. 2 in school history in the indoor 1K (2:42.94)
AWARDS:
2x First Team All-American (’24 i/o 800)
3x Big Ten Champion (’24 indoor 600, i/o 800)
1x Mid-Atlantic Region Women’s Track Athlete of the Year (’24 indoor)
1x Big Ten Women’s Track Athlete of the Year (’24 indoor)
1x Big Ten Women’s Track Athlete of the Championships (’24 indoor)
2x Big Ten Freshman of the Year (‘23 indoor and outdoor seasons)
1x Second Team All-Big Ten (‘23 indoor 800)
1x Big Ten Bronze Medalist (’23 outdoor 800)
3x Big Ten Women’s Track Athlete of the Week (3x ’24)
1x Big Ten Sportsmanship Award (indoor ’24)
1x USTFCCCA All-Academic Team (’23)
1x Academic All-Big Ten (Sp. ’24)
NOTES: Set Penn State outdoor 800m school record at the 2024 Australia National Championships.
2024 Outdoor
Season: Claimed fifth in Division I in the 800m, the highest-ever finish by a women’s 800-meter runner in Penn State history…Won the outdoor 800-meter Big Ten title with a meet record mark…Set Penn State records in the 800m, SMR, and 4x1500m relay.
Pepsi Florida Relays (3/29-30): Took down the Penn State school record in her 800-meter opener, going 2:01.17 for second overall…Also clocked the fifth-fastest 1500m in school history with a 4:14.75, also good for second place. Australia National Championships (4/14): Lowered her Penn State school record with a 2:00.70 in the 800m finals…Is the only woman in school history to record a sub-2:01 time in the event. Penn Relays (4/25-27): Set a pair of school records at the Penn Relays…The team of Kitching, Maddie Ullom, Kileigh Kane, and Florence Caron posted a 17:09.59 in the 4x1500m, the fifth-fastest mark in NCAA history…Also ran the 800-meter leg on the SMR school record-setting squad that posted a 3:44.66, the No. 18 mark in NCAA history…Big Ten Outdoor Championships (5/10-12): Recorded a pair of point-scoring results at the conference meet…Won the 800m title with a meet record-setting 2:02.54, nearly two seconds ahead of the second-place finisher…Also ran in the 4x400, helped Penn State’s team record another point with an eighth-place finish in 3:39.18. NCAA East Region Prelims (5/22-25): In her second consecutive first round appearance, Kitching advanced to the 800m quarterfinals in 2:04.12 and then punched her ticket to the NCAA Championships with a 2:01.43, winning her heat on both occasions. NCAA Outdoor Championships (6/5-8): Advanced to the 800-meter finals with a 2:01.47 in the semifinals…Crossed the line in fifth place in the 800-meter final with a 2:01.05…Became the highest-finishing women’s 800-meter runner in Penn State history.
2024 Indoor
Season: Finished fourth in the country in the 800m as a sophomore, collecting First Team All-America honors…Claimed Big Ten titles in the 600m and 800m, earning herself Big Ten Women’s Track Athlete of the Championships honors…Set Penn State school records in the 600m, 800m, and DMR in an otherworldly indoor season.
Nittany Lion Challenge (1/13): Posted a 2:42.94 in the 1K in her season opener, the second-fastest time in school history behind Danae River’s collegiate record 2:38.58…Also ran the 4x400m relay, helping her team to a 3:41.10 time. Simmons-Harvey Invitational (1/20): Broke the 600m school record for the first time with a 1:28.18 event-winning effort. Penn State National Open (1/26-27): Set the Penn State record in the indoor 800m with a 2:01.77, the 21st-fastest mark in NCAA history…Ran the 800m leg on the first DMR team in school history to break the 11:00 mark. David Hemery Valentine Invitational (2/9-10): Finished sixth overall out of 300+ entrants in the 800m with a 2:01.84. Boston University DMR Challenge (2/16): Ran the 800m leg on the school record-setting DMR team that clocked a 10:49.05, the seventh-fastest time in NCAA history. Big Ten Indoor Championships (2/23-24): Lowered her 600m school record in both the prelims (1:28.02) and the finals (1:26.97) in her title-winning effort…Cruised to the 800-meter championship with a 2:04.08, crossing the line a full second faster than the second-place finisher…Kitching’s 20 points helped the Penn State women’s team to a second place finish in the conference…She earned Big Ten Women’s Track Athlete of the Championships for her outstanding performance in the middle-distance events at the conference championships. NCAA indoor Championships (3/7-9): Ran a 2:02.16 in the 800-meter finals, placing fourth in the country to collect First Team All-America honors.
2023 Cross Country
Season: Competed in six meets in her first cross country season with the Nittany Lions…Competed in the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships, helping the women’s team to qualify for the NCAA Cross Country Championships.
Dolan Duals (9/1): Clocked a 14:12.8 in the 4K and placed seventh. Spiked Shoe Invitational (9/8): Posted a 22:02.0. Lehigh Paul Short (9/30): Posted a 21:20.3…Placed 52nd and helped the women’s team finish fourth overall. Nuttycombe Invite (10/13): Clocked a 22:14.9. Big Ten Championships (10/27): Competed in her first Big Ten Cross Country Championships and finished with a 23:52.4. NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Championships (11/10): Set a personal best of 21:19.1 and placed 61st.
2023 Outdoor
Season: Big Ten bronze medalist in the 800…Qualified for her first NCAA Championships.
Pepsi Florida Relays (3/31-4/1): Clocked a season-best 2:04.33 in the 800, the fifth-fastest time in Penn State history, to finish fifth overall. Penn Relays (4/27-29): In the 4x800, set the Penn State school record with an 8:23.81 to win the Championship of America. Big Ten Outdoor Championships (5/12-14): Finished third in the 800 meters, earning her second Big Ten medal in 2023. NCAA East Prelims (5/25-27): Qualified for the NCAA Championships in the 800 in her first collegiate season. NCAA Outdoor Championships (6/7-10): Finished her first season as a Nittany Lion with her outing at the championship meet.
2023 Indoor
Season: Finished as the Big Ten runner-up in the 800 with her PR and the fourth-fastest time in school history.
Hokie Invitational (1/20-21): In her first collegiate competition, clocked a 1:30.22 in the 600, finishing fourth overall. Penn State National Open (1/27-28): Ran a 2:06.39 for fifth in the 800…Ran in the DMR and finished with the third-fastest time in Penn State history, along with teammates Zoey Goldstein, Maddie Ullom, and Kileigh Kane. Music City Challenge (2/10-11): Posted a 2:03.90 in the 800, her first time below 2:04 in college, to finish second overall in the event. Penn State Tune-Up (2/17): Set the third-fastest DMR in Penn State history, going 11:03.23 along with Goldstein, Rachel Gearing, and Kane. Big Ten Indoor Championships (2/24-25): Clocked a 2:03.70 for a silver medal in the 800, finishing behind Gearing for a 1-2 Penn State sweep in the event…Finished fourth in the DMR, clocking an 11:14.86.
BEFORE PENN STATE
HIGH SCHOOL PRs: 800m – 2:02, 1500m – 4:17
Attended Coffs Harbour Senior College where she was a two-time 800-meter Australian National Champion.
PERSONAL
Daughter of Tim and Heather Kitching…Both parents competed in track & field at Mount St. Mary’s…Has one brother, Jade…Hobbies include swimming, reading, and going to the beach…Enrolled in the division of undergraduate studies at Penn State…Chose Penn State because of its “…great middle-distance depth and great team atmosphere.”