How Did The Women Do At The NCAA Championships?

The big answer is tied for 29th place.

Tori Gerlach used her extra eligibility to All-American effect by placing third in the 300M SC! And Danielle Gibson used her first effort in the Triple Jump to place sixth for the second All-American for PSU!  Both Tori and Danielle PRed in their Championship performances.  Coach Groves would be proud.  Only Tori PRed, (Thanks Mimi McGarry McCloskey!) Coach Groves is still proud.  Blog interns will be denied soup at lunch for the next week. 

600M Record Holder Cas Loxsom with Tori Gerlach.

The Team Rundown:

• 800M - Danae Rivers     19th   2:07.17
• 3000M SC - Tori Gerlach      3rd   9:46.76
• 5000M - Tessa Barrett     20th   16:18.86
• 10000M - Jillian Hunsberger     10th   33:29.40
• Pole Vault - Hannah Mulhern      NH
• Triple Jump - Dannielle Gibson    6th   43' 10"
• Shot Put - Obeng Marfo   19th   53' 3/4"

Two More All-Americans

The final day of the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships saw two more Nitany Lions added to the ranks of All-Americans.

Brannon Kidder placed seventh in the 800M (1:50.29) in the midst of one of the finest fields ever assembled for the event.  Rachel Fatherly topped off her steady progress as a thrower by placing eighth in the Shot Put (56' 6").  Dannielle Gibson finished 10th in the Triple Jump with a leap (or is it 3?) of 42' 3.25".

Rachel Fatherly and Mid-Atlantic Assistant Coach of the Year Patrick Ebel.

In other action, Casimir Loxsom placed 3rd in the USATF Indoor Championships 800M in 1:47.89.

End of Season Accolades and Rankings

It was a great Indoor Season for the Nittany Lions, and eight athletes are moving on to the very exclusive NCAA Indoor Championships in 5 events (only top 16 make it nationwide)!

 9  Tessa Barrett     FR 5000M         15:46.08D

14  Tori Gerlach      SR 5000M         15:50.49D

15  Dannielle Gibson  JR Triple Jump     13.14mD

 8  Rachel Fatherly   SR Shot Put        17.27mD

                                                                                                                

4  Isaiah Harris      FR 800M           1:46.24D

8  Brannon Kidder     SR 800M           1:47.01D

3  Distance Medley Relay                9:27.20D

 1200M)  Jordan Makins SR   400M) 426 Alex Shisler SR            

 800M)  Isaiah Harris FR 1600M) 424 Brannon Kidder SR  

Isaiah Harris to Brannon Kidder!

And two athletes and one coach earned Regional  honors!
 

MID-ATLANTIC - Track Athlete of the Year – Brannon Kidder, Penn State
Kidder, a senior from Lancaster, Ohio, broke the collegiate 1000 meters record in 2:18.26, ranks No. 8 at 800 meters in 1:47.01 and anchored the No. 3 DMR with a 3:55 1600-meter split. He won the mile at the Big Ten Championships and anchored the winning DMR. He’ll put his individual undefeated record on the line over 800 meters at the NCAA Championships, and will also run the DMR.
MID-ATLANTIC - Field Athlete of the Year – Rachel Fatherly, Penn State
Fatherly, a senior from Williamsport, Pennsylvania, broke the Penn State record in the shot put at 17.27m (56-8) for the No. 8 rank in the country. She finished runner-up in the event at the Big Ten Championships to go along with a fourth-place weight throw finish. She will contest the shot put at the NCAA Championships.
MID-ATLANTIC – Womens Assistant Coach of the Year – Patrick Ebel, Penn State
Ebel, in his fourth season guiding the Penn State throwers, coached his shot putters to three of the top four individual finishes at the Big Ten Championships. National No. 8 Rachel Fatherly finished runner-up as one of three Nittany Lions to surpass 50 feet, and he also had two finalists in the Big Ten weight throw. Fatherly, the school record holder in the shot put, will compete at the NCAA Championships.



And Penn State is ranked 2nd overall in the 800M as a team, just 0.3 seconds behind Texas A&M and Freshman sensation Donavan Brazier.  The top 4 runners from each team count in the standings.

John Gondak Has Been Named.............

...... men's distance coach of Team USA for the North American, Central America, and Caribbean (NACAC) Athletic Association Under-23 Championships, set for August 8-10, in Kamloops, Canada. Many of us are pulling for him to have that interim tag removed, well this certainly adds to the resume.

Other Nittany Lions competing internationally this summer are: 

Darrell Hill (USA, NACAC U-23)

Michael Shuey (USA, NACAC U-23)

Kiah Seymour (USA, NACAC U-23)

Brittney Howell  (USA, NACAC U-23)

Steve Waithe  (Trinidad and Tobago, NACAC U-23)

Dannielle Gibson (Bahamas, IAAF World Junior Championships, to be held July 22-27 in Eugene, OR)

Full press release from GoPSUSports.