Athletics

Nine Nittany Lions garner first team track and field All-America honors

Brannon Kidder Credit: GoPSUsports.comAll Rights Reserved.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Following the NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships last week in Fayetteville, Ark., the United States Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced its All-America teams. Nine Nittany Lions tallied first team All-America honors.

The Penn State men posted three first team All-America finishes and the Penn State women's 4x400-meter relay recorded a first team All-America finish. Individually, junior Brannon Kidder (Lancaster, Ohio) posted a pair of first team All-America finishes in the distance medley relay and the mile.

The Penn State men were highlighted by a runner-up finish in the distance medley relay. The quartet of Kidder, Alex Shisler (State College, Pa.), Za'Von Watkins (Liverpool, N.Y.) and Robby Creese (Mount Airy, Md.) clocked in at 9:32.21 to finish second. For Creese, Kidder and Watkins it is their second career first team All-America finish in the distance medley relay, as they finished second at the 2013 NCAA meet.

Kidder also finished seventh in the men's mile with his time of 4:04.48. His seventh-place finish in the men's mile Saturday is the highest Nittany Lion finish since Ryan Foster took third in 2011.

In the field, Darrell Hill (Philadelphia, Pa.) finished fourth (64-8) in the men's shot put. With his fourth-place finish, Hill becomes the fourth Nittany Lion to finish fourth or higher at the NCAA Indoor Championships in the men's shot put and he also recorded the highest finish in the shot put since Joe Kovacs placed third in 2010.

On the women's side, the 4x400-meter relay of Megan Osborne (Chillicothe, Ohio), Dynasty McGee (Flint, Mich.), Tichina Rhodes (Philadelphia, Pa.) and Kiah Seymour (Washington, D.C.) posted an eighth-place finish with their season-best time of 3:34.57. McGee, Rhodes and Seymour repeated as first team All-Americans in the 4x400-meter relay from last year.

In all, nine out of the 11 Penn State student-athletes that competed at the NCAA Indoor Championships tallied first team All-America honors.

With the indoor season now in the books, the Nittany Lions will open up the outdoor season with the Florida Relays, April 3-4, in Gainesville, Fla.

For more on Nittany Lion track & field, log onto www.GoPSUsports.com or follow the team on Twitter @PennStateTFXC. 

Last Updated March 19, 2015