Melissa Kurzdorfer Season 2011-12

On the National Stage ... || 2014 Outdoor || Qualified for the NCAA East Prelims in the discus, hammer and shot put ... At the NCAA East Prelims, Kurzdorfer finished 27th in the shot put (49-9.75), 28th in the discus throw (160-4) and advanced to the NCAA Championships in the hammer throw with her eighth-place finish (197-4) ... Tallied a season-best mark of 205-6 to place ninth in the hammer throw at the NCAA Championships ... Second Team All-American || 2013 Outdoor || Qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in both the hammer and the discus, bringin home Honorable Mention All-America finishes in both events ... Took seventh in the hammer, and 12th in the discus at the NCAA Eastern Preliminary Round to advance championship competition. || 2012 Outdoor || Posted the second-best hammer mark at the NCAA Eastern Preliminary, thanks to a PR 207-10 (63.35) ... Earned Second Team All-America honors for the second straight year, finishing 12th in the hammer at the NCAA Outdoor Championships ... Won the Penn Relays title in the hammer with a toss of 205-2 (62.53).

At the Big Ten Championships ... || 2014 Outdoor || Won the hammer throw with her mark of 198-6, finished fifth in the shot put as she tied her lifetime-best mark of 51-6.5 and placed seventh in the discus throw (159-5) ... Her distance of 51-6.5 in the shot put ranks sixth all-time at Penn State ... First Team All-Big Ten || 2014 Indoor || Finished second in the weight throw (67-5.25) and fifth in the shot put with her season-best throw of 50-8.75 ... Second Team All-Big Ten || 2013 Outdoor || Turned in a pair of scoring finishes, including a runner-up effort in the hammer - her second-straight silver-medal finish in the event at the conference meet ... Also scored an eighth-place finish in the shot put ... Also made the discus final, where she placed ninth overall. || 2013 Indoor || Scored a fifth-place finish in the weight, and sixth-place finish in the shot ... Posted a lifetime-best toss of 51-6.50 (15.71) in the shot at the conference meet. || 2012 Outdoor || Took runner-up honors in the hammer with a then-PR 207-9 (63.33) ... Also scored a seventh-place finish in the discus with a season-best 165-9 (50.53). || 2012 Indoor || Finished eighth in the 20-lb weight with a throw of 63-7.75 (19.40) ... Also finished 11th in the shot put.

In the Field ... || 2014 Outdoor || Won five events during the outdoor season ... At the season-opening Crimson Tide Invitational, Kurzdorfer finished third in the discus throw (158-9) and placed third in the hammer throw (191-8) ... Finished sixth in the discus throw at the Sun Angel Track Classic with her season-best mark of 164-11 ... Won the discus throw (158-5) and the hammer throw (189-10) at the Team Challenge ... Placed fourth in the hammer throw (193-2) and ninth in the discus throw (150-11) at the Penn Relays... Big Ten Women[apos]s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week (May 14) || 2014 Indoor || Opened the 2014 indoor season with a second-place finish in the weight throw at the Nittany Lion Challenge with her mark of 61-11 ... Posted a pair of third-place finishes at the Penn State National Invitational in the shot put (48-7.25) and in the weight throw (64-1) ... Claimed the weight throw title at the Sykes & Sabock Challenge Cup with her lifetime-best mark of 68-6 ... Her distance of 68-6 ranks second all-time at Penn State || 2013 Outdoor || Opened the season with a victory in the hammer at the Crimson Tide Invitational ... Took third in both the discus and the shot put against stellar competition at the LSU Battle on the Bayou ... Also picked up hammer victories at the Bucknell Team Challenge and Jim Thorpe Invitational during the regular season ... Finished second in the discus at Penn Relays, thanks to a season-best toss of 166-9 (50.82) ... Also posted a lifetime-outdoor best 50-3.25 (15.32) in the shot at Penn. || 2013 Indoor || Kicked off the season with a victory in the weight throw at the Penn State Relays ... Also placed second in the shot at the same competition ... Also won the weight at the Nittany Lion Challenge, and the Sykes & Sabock Challenge Cup ... Placed third in the event at the PSU National ... Finished fourth in the shot and sixth in the weight at the SPIRE D-I Invitational. || 2012 Outdoor || Enjoyed a stellar outdoor season, picking up hammer victories at the Bison Outdoor Classic, Bucknell Team Challenge, Jim Thorpe Open and Penn Relays ... Placed third in the hammer at the LSU Invitational, and finished as the top collegian at the Jim Click Shootout ... Top shot put finish was a third-place effort at the Jim Click Shootout, where she also threw a season-best 48-2 (14.68) ... Was a Big Ten Athlete of the Week winner during the season. || 2012 Indoor || Posted PRs in the shot and weight to win both events at the Penn State National with throws of 50-2 (15.29) in the shot, and 64-10.50 (19.77) in the weight ... Won the weight at the Penn State Relays in her first Nittany Lion appearance ... Also finished third in the shot at the Relays ... Collected a pair of second-place finishes at the Nittany Lion Challenge ... Also won the weight at the Sykes & Sabock Challenge Cup.

Before Penn State ... || Kent State || Enjoyed a banner freshman campaign with the Golden Flashes, qualifying for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the hammer throw, where she would finish 12th overall and garner second-team All-America status ... Had a sensational weekend at the MAC Outdoor Championships, taking second in the hammer, third in the discus, and fourth in the shot ... Also enjoyed personal collegiate bests in all three events at the conference meet, with efforts of 199-4 (60.76) in the hammer, 172-5 (52.56) in the discus, and 49-1 (14.96) in the shot put ... Was just as successful indoors, placing second in the weight throw ... Threw a personal-best 63-9.50 (19.44) in the weight at the Penn State National, placing third in the competition ... Picked up weight victories during the indoor season at the Akron vs Kent State Dual and Kent State Tune-Up ... PR throw in the weight ranked fourth nationally among Division I freshmen in 2011. || High School || One of the most decorated athletes in New York high school history, totaling 21 state titles throughout her career at Lancaster High School ... Ranked number one in the nation during her senior indoor season with a toss of 50-6, which is also a N.Y. state record ... Threw 61-4 to win the 20-pound weight at Nike Indoor Nationals in 2010 - the second-best throw by a prep on the year ... Also won the shot at Nike Indoor as a senior ... Holds state records in the indoor and outdoor shot put (49-9.50), as well as unofficial state records in the weight and hammer (192-8). || Personal || Daughter of Mike and Mary Anne ... Birthday is December 30, 1991 ... Plans to major in Health Policy Administration.

Collegiate Personal Bests || Track and Field