BOSTON – The Penn State track & field team earned three All-America citations, qualified four athletes to their respective event finals, and set a school record on day one of the 2024 NCAA Indoor Track & Field Championships at the TRACK at New Balance.
The women’s distance medley relay team of Maddie Ullom, Zoey Goldstein, Victoria Vanriele, and Florence Caron placed eighth in the nation with the third-fastest relay in Penn State history. Their 10:57.65 finish earned them First Team All-America honors, the first Nittany Lion women’s DMR group to do so since 2017.
Carter Fitzgerald closed out his indoor campaign with a 13th-place finish in the men’s 800-meters, earning himself Second Team All-America recognition with a 1:49.99. Kileigh Kane also collected Second Team All-America laurels with her outing in the women’s mile.
Nearing the conclusion of one of the most outstanding indoor campaigns in school history, Cheickna Traore lowered his own school record in the men’s 200-meters, clocking a 20.38 in the prelims to advance to the finals.
FINALS QUALIFIERS
Four Nittany Lions will run in Saturday’s event finals after posting qualifying marks on Friday.
Traore posted a 6.61 in the 60-meter dash, the seventh-fastest qualifying mark of the day, to move to the event finals. As previously stated, Traore followed up that performance with a blazing 20.38 in the 200-meters, setting the third-fastest qualifying mark of the afternoon, to punch his ticket to his second event finals.
Handal Roban’s 1:47.55 in the 800-meter prelims pushed him through to the finals as the fourth-fastest qualifier. Roban, last year’s indoor and outdoor 800-meter bronze medalist, qualifies to his third-straight NCAA final in the 800-meters.
Hayley Kitching will make her first appearance in the women’s 800-meter finals after punching her ticket with a 2:03.64 in the prelims Friday evening. Kitching looks to cap off her outstanding sophomore season with a strong outing in the 800 finals.
UP NEXT
The Nittany Lions are set to resume action Saturday at 4:10 p.m. with Traore in the men’s 60-meter finals. Roban will then toe the line in the 800 at 4:30 p.m. and then Traore will run in the 200 at 4:50 p.m. Kitching will wrap up Penn State’s NCAA Indoor Championships with her 800-meter final at 7:30 p.m.
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