Comparison Of Top 12 Nittany Lion Performances At The Olympic Trials

 *This is using the 2017 revision of the IAAF Scoring Tables.

1.   Joe Kovacs               Mens Shot Put             22.34M             1261 pts.

2.   Darrell Hill               Mens Shot Put             21.89M             1234 pts.

3.   Terrance Laird          Mens 200M                 20.15                 1196 pts.

4.   Isaiah Harris             Mens 800M                 1:44.58              1187 pts.

5.   Brannon Kidder        Mens 800M                 1:45.08              1171 pts.

6.   Evonne Britton         Womens 100H             12.95                 1156 pts.

7.   Kiah Seymour          Womens 400H             55.84                  1147 pts.

8.   Morgan Shigo           Mens Hammer            74.39M               1107 pts.

9.   Michael Shuey          Mens Javelin               79.24M              1091 pts.

10.  Joe White                 Mens 800M                 1:48.57               1067 pts.

11.  Maddie Holmberg    Womens Heptathlon    5895 pts.            1054 pts.

12.  David Lucas             Mens Discus               58.99M               1042 pts.

Olympic Team Qualified

Our Brave And Talented Interns Are Off Duty, So I Will Post The Next To Last Olympic Trials Update Of Nittany Lion Finishes

 Women's Shot Put:

14.  Rachel Fatherly      17.12M

15.  Payden Montana (transfer)  17.05M

Mens Discus:

15.  David Lucas        58.99M

Womens 3000M Steeplechase:

31.  Tori Gerlach      10:25.39

Womens Javelin:

21.  Madison Smith      45.93M 

Mens Long Jump:

23.  Malik Moffett     7.25M

Womens 400M Hurdle:

9.  Kiah Seymour (transfer)   55.84

TwoThree Lions in competition on the last day...

The Ultimate Interns Guide To Nittany Lions At The 2021 USATF Olympic Trials

 Friday June 18:

3:00PM ET

Mens Shot Put Qualifying:

2.  Joe Kovacs 

3.  Darrell Hill

3:05PM ET

Mens Hammer Throw Qualifying:

 7.  Morgan Shigo

22. Tyler Merkley

5:26PM ET

Mens 800M First Round:

7.  Brannon Kidder

9.  Isaiah Harris

14.   Joe White (Volunteer Assistant from Georgetown)

9:30PM ET

Mens Shot Put Final:

Pending Qualification  (Joe Kovacs, Darrell Hill)

Saturday June 19:

5:15PM ET

Mens Javelin Throw Qualification

2. Michael Shuey

19. Mark Porter

8:04PM ET

Womens 100M Hurdle First Round:

 16. Evonne Britton 

10:04PM ET

Mens 800M Semi-Finals

Pending Qualification (Brannon Kidder, Isaiah Harris)

Sunday June 20:

7:25PM ET

Mens Hammer Throw Final

Pending Qualification (Morgan Shigo, Tyler Merkley)

9:03PM ET

Womens 100M Hurdle Semi-Final

Pending Qualification (Evonne Britton)

9:35PM ET

Womens 3000M Steeplechase First Round

26. Tori Gerlach

10:43PM ET

Womens 100M Hurdle Final

Pending Qualification (Evonne Britton)

Monday June 21:

7:15PM ET

Mens Javelin Finals

Pending Qualification (Michael Shuey, Mark Porter)

8:25PM ET

Mens 800M Finals

Pending Qualification (Brannon Kidder, Isaiah Harris)

Thursday June 24:

4:30PM ET

Womens Shot Put Qualifying

5.  Rachel Fatherly

21. Payden Montana  (transfer)

9:04PM ET

Mens 1500M First Round

8.  Brannon Kidder

10:05PM ET

Mens Discus Qualifying

19. David Lucas

11:00PM ET

Womens Shot Put Final

Pending Qualification (Rachel Fatherly)

11:47PM ET

Womens 3000M Steeplechase Final

Pending Qualification (Tori Gerlach)

Friday June 25:

4:00PM ET

Womens Javelin Qualification

21.  Madison Smith 

4:30PM ET

Mens Long Jump Qualification

22. Malik Moffett

6:30PM ET

Mens Discus Final

Pending Qualification (David Lucas)

6:35PM ET

Womens 400M Hurdle First Round 

8.  Kiah Seymour (Transfer)

7:05PM ET

Mens 1500M Semi-Final

Pending Qualification (Brannon Kidder)

8:04PM ET

Mens 200M First Round

          3  Terrance Laird (transfer now with Adidas)

Saturday June 26:

Womens Heptatlon Day 1

17. Madeline Holmberg

Sunday June 27:

Womens Heptathlon Day 2 

Madeline Holmberg

7:00PM ET

Mens Long Jump Finals

Pending Qualification (Malik Moffett)

7:20PM ET

Womens 400M Hurdles Final

Pending Qualification (Kiah Seymour, Transfer)

 8:10PM ET

Mens 1500M Finals

Pending Qualification (Brannon Kidder)

 

 

 

 

 

NCAA 2021 Outdoor Finalists

 The Nittany Lions will have 7 representatives at the upcoming championships at the renovated Hayward Field.  A modicum of attendees will be there.  Mark "Beef" Heckel, Blue Band Captain, Track Alumni (Golfer) and heralded Throws Official may throw us a bone or two when not busy!

21  Evan Dorenkamp   FR 800M           1:49.11 

 4  David Lucas     SR Discus          60.77m 

12  Tyler Merkley  SO Hammer          67.47m 

13  Mark Porter  JR Javelin         70.22m  

20  Noah Swaby    SO Decathlon         7517 

11  Danae Rivers   SR 1500M          4:12.81 

7  Madeline Nickal (Holmberg) SR Heptathlon        5839  

And don't forget to get your entries in for this year's Reunion.  You can do it the old fashioned way by sending the monies in to Harry Smith or to me via PayPal on the top of  the full web site!  Not available yet on the handheld site or via the Facebook Page.  The Interns will get around to it.

Onward To Nationals!

Six Nittany Lions made it to the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.  Remember, only the top sixteen individuals and the top 12 Relays can make it.  That's one of the hardest "makes" in all of track and field.

Women:

• Alexis Holmes   400M   
• Danae Rivers      800M
• Maddie Holmberg     Pentathlon

Men:

• Domenic Perretta     800M
• Morgan Shigo          Weight Throw
• David Lucas             Weight Throw 

2018 Performance of the Year

Wow, it was a glorious year for Penn State Track and Field and all in our Alumni group.  To think that Darrell Hill's USATF Championship in the Shot Put garnered only third place with 13% of the vote this year is sorta kinda unbelievable.  The Big Guys have won the last several years, so I'm sure they won't be too upset.

And to think that an NCAA Championship in the Weight Throw came in second with 26% of the vote is equally astounding.  David Lucas stunned everyone except observant members of our group with his Herculean heave.

But the winner in a runaway was Isaiah Harris's long awaited NCAA Championship in the 800M with 49% of the vote.

PSU IS 800U! 

Four More All-Americans

The Nittany Lions ended up with 3 Men scoring and 3 Women scoring.  So that means both teams ended up with 3 First Team All-Americans.  The Men placed in a tie for 18th Place and the Women placed 24th.  Another very solid year for the blue and white!

For the Men, the only one not mentioned so far is David Lucas, who placed 7th in the Discus with 186' 7".  With his National title in the Indoor Weight Throw, it certainly was a great year.

Three Lady Lions (Are we still allowed to say that?) gathered points and All-American status.  They were led by Heptathlete Maddie Holmberg in 3rd.

Right behind her, placing 4th in the rainy High Jump was Megan McCloskey with a clutch clearance of 5' 10".

And Danae Rivers closed out her Sophomore year with 8th in the 1500M and 2 of her top 3 times ever.

A Good Weekend

The Nittany Lions qualified 7 individuals and the Mens 4 x 100M team for the NCAA Championships at Hayward Field in a week and a half.

1. Morgan Shigo   -  Hammer Throw   223' 11"      10th
2. Steph Sievers   -   Javelin       159'11"                  10th
3. Megan McCloskey   -   High Jump     5' 10.75"    5th
4. Isaiah Harris    -    800M                   1:46.80        4th
5. Michael Biddle  -     Javelin               208' 6.25"     9th
6. David Lucas   -    Discus Throw          187' 2"      4th
7. Danae Rivers   -   1500M                     4:11.75     3rd
8. 4 x 100M Relay  -                               39.61         12th  (Will Henderson, Anton Porter, Xavier Smith, Malik Moffett)
9. We must not forget (I did) that Madeline Holmberg previously qualified in the heptathlon!

And Tyler McCandless has improved at every Boulder Boulder he has run, cumninating in this year's victory.

Tyler McCandless

Boulder, CO

M31

30:54.76

4:59

2015 - 26th, 32:35 2016 - 6th, 32:05 2017 - 4th, 31:04 2018 - 1st, 30:54

David Lucas Dominates Weight Throw

National Champion

You probably couldn't come up with a more dominant performance.  David Lucas came into the meet as one of the top seeds.  With his first throw, he cemented that prediction with throw of 70' 9".  And on each of his next 4 throws, he bettered his previous mark, ending up at a Facility Record 78' 9.75", which is the fourth best ever US mark and the new School Record.

We want YOU to come to our Reunion and maybe even golf with us in the newbie-friendly Coach Groves Tourney this year on May 18 and 19: One Person options:     Entire Package $205.00 USD    Friday and Saturday $135.00 USD    Friday Reception $45.00 USD    Saturday Reception $105.00 USD    Golf and Saturday Reception Dinner $155.00 USD For additional family members, add up permutations in post and use snail mail to:  Harry Smith             508 Washington Avenue             Elyria, OH  44035

A Multi All-American!

Madeline Holmberg racked up a personal best score of 4,216 at the NCAA Indoor Championship Pentathlon yesterday to finish 7th and attain all-American status.  She won the Pentathlon Shot Put event with a heave of 45' 0.5", and placed 4th in the long jump with 20' 0.5".  In true PSU fashion, she ran a very fine 2:21 800M to assure her place on the podium!

Madeline HOLMBERG Penn State [SO]

4216 -356  PB

8.51 (7) 1015 [1015]

1.60 (16) 5-3 736 [1751]

13.73 (1) 45-½ 776 [2527]

6.11 (4) 20-½ 883 [3410]

2:21.26 (10) 806 [4216]

Both Isaiah Harris and Danae Rivers moved on to today's Final in the 800M.  Freshman "Fenom" Terrance Laird ran a fine 20.97 to place 12th and attain second team All-American status in his first season of action.

In action today, in addition to Isaiah and Danae are the Weight Throw duo of Morgan Shigo and David Lucas, and the 4 x 400M Men's team.

We want YOU to come to our Reunion and maybe even golf with us in the newbie-friendly Coach Groves Tourney this year on May 18 and 19:

One Person options:

Entire Package $205.00 USD    Friday and Saturday $135.00 USD    Friday Reception $45.00 USD    Saturday Reception $105.00 USD    Golf and Saturday Reception Dinner $155.00 USD

For additional family members, add up permutations in post and use snail mail to:
 Harry Smith
            508 Washington Avenue
            Elyria, OH  44035

It Isn't Easy To Qualify For Nationals In Indoor Track

Only the top 16 make it in individual events.  Only 12 relay teams qualify.

Penn State has its share of entrants:

Women:

• Danae Rivers - 800M
• Maddie Holmberg - Pentathlon

Men:

• Isaiah Harris - 800M
• Terrance Laird - 200M
• Bryce Williams - Triple Jump
• David Lucas - Weight Throw
• Morgan Shigo - Weight Throw
• 4 x 400M (Dan Chisena, Xavier Smith, Kier Miner, Isaiah Harris) 

Good luck at Texas A&M next week!


And don't forget to sign up for the Reunion and Golf Tourney!  Either with PayPal/credit card or via snail mail to Harry Smith.

One Person options:

Entire Package $205.00 USD    Friday and Saturday $135.00 USD    Friday Reception $45.00 USD    Saturday Reception $105.00 USD    Golf and Saturday Reception Dinner $155.00 USD

For additional family members, add up permutations in post and use snail mail to:
 Harry Smith
            508 Washington Avenue
            Elyria, OH  44035

Season Opening Meet Is More Than A Rustbuster! And a Homecoming For An Officer Of The Group

Don't forget, there is only one day left to get your vote in for the 2017 Performance of the Year.  Go to the full website.  Look at the left sidebar and vote for your top 2 out of the 6 finalists!

There were 2 School Records set in the first meet of the season at the Horace Ashenfelter Indoor Track.

• Bryce Williams stunned everyone except himself with an opening meet School Record in the Triple Jump.  (53’-3.50”)
• David Lucas heaved the heavy ball further than any Nittany Lion ever. 
  (70’-7.25”)

But in my eyes, the performance of the meet was our very own Undersecretary of Fun Billy Cvecko butting heads in the 800M with the younger crowd.  He finished third in 1:56.06.  And I'm betting he never gets enough sleep!

How Did The Men Do At The NCAA Championships?

 "It was a fun race."

-Isaiah Harris, runner-up in the 800M.

(And let's not forget this previous tweet from Isaiah!)

"Light yourself on fire and then roll in broken glass to put out the fire!" -from Isaiah Harris's Twitter Feed, explaining how to replicate the feeling after an 800M race.

The big answer is, tied for 20th in the team standings.  For the third straight year in the top 20!  Congrats to the coaches and all the athletes (and not just the ones who scored!).  Coach Gondak related his happiness and the hunger for more!

Coach Gondak and Isaiah Harris.

Isaiah Harris closed out the NCAA Championships with a very smart race, finishing second to the heavy favorite, UTEP's Emmanuel Korir.*  Isaiah stayed back early and ran relatively even splits (52.32 and 53.09).  That kept him out of trouble when the 2 UTEP runners tangled and Michael Saruni went down with 200M to go.  Many thought Korir could have been disqualified for the trip, but judges eventually ruled it out.

Isaiah Harris represents the 7th All-American performance in the 800M since 2009 and ties both Brannon Kidder and Casimir Loxsom with the highest finish in the event at the Championship level.

All the participants in the NCAA Championships: 

• Javelin - Michael Shuey   3rd   250' 9"
• Javelin - Ryan Kerr       9th     232' 0"
• Javelin - Michael Biddle   18th   219' 8"
• Long Jump -  Malik Moffett       18th   24' 1/4"
• Shot Put - Jon Yohman    11th      62'   1/2"
• 4 x 100M - Karson Kowalchuk, Dan Chisena, Xavier Smith, Malik Moffett  13th  39.15
• 4 x 400M - Dan Chisena, Xavier Smith, Tyreek Mathis, Isaiah Harris  9th   3:04.17
• 800M - Isaiah Harris   2nd    1:45.40
• 800M - Domenic Perretta   21st   1:49.14
• 200M - Malik Moffett   22nd   20.93
• Discus - David Lucas    9th  190' 3"
• Triple Jump - Bryce Williams  17th  51' 1 3/4" 

* Even better, Isaiah wore his "Alumni-like Singlet" in the Final.

Three First-Team All-Americans And The Best Ever Use Of One Of Our Wristbands!

Penn State scored 13 points to come in 17th at the 2016 NCAA Mens Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene yesterday.  Freshman David Lucas also became a Second-Team All-American with his 15th place finish in the Discus (180' 10").  Congrats to the coaching staff for the second top 20 finish in a row.

• Senior Brian Leap - 6th Place Triple Jump  (52' 11")
• Senior Brannon Kidder - 4th Place 1500M   (3:40.67)
• Freshman Isaiah Harris - 4th  Place 800M   (1:45.76 PR) 

Isaiah Harris, with our Wristband, and Brannon Kidder.

Brian Leap in throwback singlet!

 Of note in both middle distance races:

• Both were honest races with fast starts. Rare at championship level, but a pleasure to watch.
• Brannon and Isaiah will both move forward to the Olympic Trials in the 800M.
• The "throw-back" singlets were used.  These are what our Alumni Singlets are modeled after.  This certainly makes many of us old-timers smile!
• Isaiah is wearing the Alumni Wristband I gave him at our Reunion.  I'll have to check the tape to see if he raced with it! Update: HE DID! His version is the "PSU is 800U" version.  He acquitted it quite well.  Can't wait to see what the future will bring.

Ebel Is Able And His Throwers Are Too!

Coach Ebel has every right to be strutting and crowing, but he has just nonchalantly directed all congratulations to his throwers.  And his throwers won or excelled in just about every event they could at Penn Relays, both College Division and Championship Division!

Women's Discus:   Obeng Marfo   2nd   161' 2"
Men's Shot Put:  Jon Yohman   1st    60' 10.5"
Men's Discus:   David Lucas   1st   180' 6"
Women's Javelin:  Sarah Stanley   1st   147' 3"
Men's Javelin:   Ryan Kerr     1st    228' 8"
Women's Shot Put:  Alyssa Robinson   3rd  52' 5.5"
Women's Hammer Throw:  Rachel Fatherly   6th   178' 10"
Women's Javelin:  Lauren Kenney   6th  144' 5"
Men's Hammer Throw:  Morgan Shigo   1st  206' 0"

Coach Ebel and John Lucas.