B1G Homie Slays Another Goliath NATIONAL CHAMPION!

It was a darn good day at the USATF Championships on Saturday.  There were numerous Nits in action, with some fine results all over...

• First year graduate Michael Shuey placed 4th in the Javelin with a toss of 239' 9".
• PSU student athlete Michael Biddle placed 8th in the Javelin with 230' 5". (Javelin U?)
• Evonne Britton finished in 10th in the 100M Hurdles with 13.09.
• Tori Gerlach also finished 10th in the 3000M Steeplechase with 10:03.12
• Joe Kovacs heaved the big metal ball 68' 0.25" for a 5th place finish.

But in the event with that big metal ball, the overwhelming favorite to those without the knowledge that our group has, was upset in a big way.

One of these days, performances by Darrell Hill won't be called upsets anymore.  When he made the Olympic team, it was called an upset.  When he won the Diamond League it was called an upset.  And now, when "favorite" Ryan Crouser was discombobulated  and out of step in the ring all afternoon with 5!!!! fouls, they are trying to call it an upset when Darrell beats him by nearly 2 feet with a 70' 9.25" toss.

It isn't an upset anymore.  Congrats B1G Homie.

Kudos Are Appropriate

There was a time several years ago when I wasted much time away from my day job to compile a listing of the times of competitions of Nittany Lions and ex-Nittany Lions at the USATF Championships.  And of course I was criticized when I messed up a little bit...   

But now, the PSU T&F Program itself has provided us with a complete listing!  I commend them thusly! And I will steal it to spread the word further.  Go Lions.

EVENT SCHEDULE

Thursday
Time (CDT)	Event	Competitor	Entry Mark	Seed
1:50 PM	W 3,000M Steeple (1st Round)	Tori Gerlach	9:55.52	14th
2:20 PM	W 800M (1st Round)	Danae Rivers	2:03.13	24th
2:40 PM	M 800M (1st Round)	Isaiah Harris	1:44.53	2nd
Friday
Time (CDT)	Event	Competitor
3:20 PM	M Hammer Throw	Morgan Shigo	72.47m	6th
3:50 PM	W 100M Hurdles (1st Round)	Evonne Britton	12.87	10th
6:50 PM	W 800M (Semis)	Danae Rivers
7:05 PM	M 800M (Semis)	Isaiah Harris
Saturday
Time (CDT)	Event	Competitor
10 AM	100M Hurdles - Hep	Maddie Holmberg
11 AM	High Jump - Hep	Maddie Holmberg
1:05 PM	Shot Put - Hep	Maddie Holmberg
2 PM	200M - Hep	Maddie Holmberg
2:10 PM	M Javelin Throw	Michael Biddle	73.02m	11th
		Michael Shuey	78.52m	2nd
2:20 PM	W 100M Hurdles (Semis)	Evonne Britton
2:45 PM	M Shot Put	Darrell Hill	22.44m	2nd
		Joe Kovacs	22.35m	3rd
3:20 PM	W 3,000M Steeple (Finals)	Tori Gerlach
4:52 PM	W 100M Hurdles (Finals)	Evonne Britton
Sunday
Time (CDT)	Event	Competitor
11:30 AM	Long Jump - Hep	Maddie Holmberg
12:50 PM	Javelin Throw - Hep	Maddie Holmberg
2:10 PM	W Shot Put	Rachel Fatherly	17.89m	12th
2:50 PM	800M - Hep	Maddie Holmberg
3:04 PM	W 800M (Finals)	Danae Rivers
3:13 PM	M 800M (Finals)	Isaiah Harris
Maddie Holmberg enters the heptathlon as the No. 5 seed (5,976 points). Italic events require qualification.

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

PSU Is Javelin U Too

The first Big Ten Outdoor title of the year goes to Sophomore Michael Biddle in the javelin. 

After a strong start to the season (after playing Freshman second fiddle to an NCAA 2nd place finisher last year), Michael came through with a big PR in the final throws of the Big Ten Championship.  His toss of 239 feet 7 inches was a PR by several feet.  In addition, there were fifth and and eighth place finishes for the Lions by Matt Nawrocki and Mark Porter, totaling a big 15 points, helping the Men to second place after the first day's complete scoring.

Big Ten Javelin Champion, Michael Biddle.

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.

Javelin Nation!

Michael Shuey made his extra year of eligibility count as he performed better than ever before at the NCAA Championships in Eugene yesterday.  This follows a return from major injury and a disappointing first Senior Season!

Not one, but 2 other Nittany Lions also performed well on the big stage at Hayward Field.  Michael Biddle placed 18th with a toss of 218' 8".  Ryan Kerr just missed All-American honors with a 9th place finish with 232' 0".

Ryan Kerr and Michael Shuey.

But Michael Shuey made his first throw in the extra 3 given to the top 9 count with a PR and new School Record of 250' 9"!  Congrats Michael.

1		Ioannis KYRIAZIS	JR	Texas A&M	82.58m (270-11 )
2		Nicolas QUIJERA	JR	Miss State	76.77m (251-10 )
3		Michael SHUEY	SR	Penn State	76.42m (250-9 )
4		Alex PASCAL	JR	Missouri	75.38m (247-4 )
5		Matti MORTIMORE	JR	N. Dakota St.	74.33m (243-10 )
6		Sindri GUDMUNDSSON	FR	Utah State	73.28m (240-5 )
7		Curtis THOMPSON	JR	Miss State	72.47m (237-9 )
8		Chris MIRABELLI	JR	Rutgers	71.68m (235-2 )
9		Ryan KERR	SR	Penn State	70.71m (232-0 )
10		McLean LIPSCHUTZ	SR	Alabama	69.41m (227-8 )
11		Sam HARDIN	JR	Texas A&M	69.34m (227-6 )
12		Cody DANIELSON	SR	Oregon	69.31m (227-4 )
13		Michael CRITICOS	JR	Memphis	69.18m (227-0 )
14		Adrian MITCHELL	FR	Albany	68.54m (224-10 )
15		Matthew KUSKEY	SR	UC Santa Barbara	68.25m (223-11 )
16		Simon LITZELL	FR	UCLA	67.62m (221-10 )
17		Werner BOUWER	FR	Texas Tech	67.60m (221-9 )
18		Michael BIDDLE	FR	Penn State	66.95m (219-8 )

PSU is Javelin U

Let's not forget about the field events at Penn Relays.  There were many fine performances, including the only watch win by Danielle Gibson in the Triple Jump.  But the event that stands out in my mind was the 2-3-4 finish by Penn State Men in the Javelin.  Which included a school record for Michael Shuey!

1		Chris Mirabelli	Rutgers	76.67m (251-6)
2		Michael Shuey	Penn State	76.25m (250-1)
3		Michael Biddle	Penn State	70.82m (232-4)
4		Ryan Kerr	Penn State	69.22m (227-1)