Athletics

Nittany Lion men, women sweep team titles behind 18-event wins

Credit: Penn State AthleticsAll Rights Reserved.

LEWISBURG, Pa. -- Penn State back doored a successful Friday night at the Stanford Twilight in California with an equally successful Bucknell Team Challenge, sweeping both team titles while finishing the day with 18 individual event wins and sweeping six events along the way Saturday afternoon at Christy Mathewson-Memorial Stadium.“It was a great weekend for us, both at Bucknell and out at Stanford on Friday night," said head coach John Gondak."I'm very pleased with how the team competed today at Bucknell. The facility and meet at Bucknell have treated us very well over the years and today was no exception. We had great weather and some good performances, it was a great tune-up meet as we head towards the Penn Relays this coming week."Penn State won both team titles on the day with the No. 12 men's team racking up 201 points followed closely by the Nittany Lion women's team winning total of 186 points. While the 18 individual wins were quite impressive, just as impressive were the 16 personal best marks that were set over the course of the day.Penn State student-athletes who set personal best include: Lauren Costa (100m), Tichina Rhodes (200m), Grace Trucilla (800m), Tessa Barrett (1500m), Elyse Skerpon (400mH), Rachael DeCecco (400mH), Obeng Marfo (discus throw), Sarah Stanley (javelin), Anton Porter (100m, 200m), Xavier Smith (100m), Dan Chisena (100m), Cody Minnig (100m),  Jon Yohman (shot put), David Lucas (discus throw) and Robert Cardina (javelin).The Nittany Lions, along with setting 16 individual best marks, swept the women’s 1,500-meters, women’s pole vault, women’s long jump, men’s 100-meters, men’s 1,500-meters, men’s hammer throw, as well as placing four Nittany Lions in the top-five in the men’s 200-meters.Moving into the Penn State all-time top-10 this weekend were six Penn State athletes.Megan Fry moved from No. 10 to No. 9 in the women’s pole vault with her performance of 3.81m (12’6”). Obeng Marfo improved on her personal best to hold steady at No. 3 all-time in the women’s discus throw with a mark of 52.03m (170’-8”). Anton Porter is now slated at No. 7 in the men’s 100-meters along with teammates Xavier Smith at No. 8 and Dan Chisena at No. 9 in the same event. Finally, David Lucas moved up from No. 10 to No. 5 in the men’s discus throw posting a mark of 56.48m (185’-4”)."Today was a day where our athletes were confident and competed well," said Gondak. "The type of energy I saw displayed today on the track and in the field helps carry the momentum as we head into championship season coming up here in just a few short weeks."Penn State will regroup and head to Philadelphia for the 2016 Penn Relays at historic Franklin Field Apr. 28-30.

Last Updated April 26, 2016