A pair of Nittany Lion track and field standouts earned Big Ten recognition on Tuesday, as senior Joe Kovacs (Nazareth, Pa.) was named "Field Athlete of the Year," while freshman Robby Creese (Mount Airy, Md.) copped "Freshman of the Year" honors. Kovacs took top honors in the shot put in record-setting fashion at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships at Wisconsin last weekend, with Creese also making the medal stand via a third-place finish in the 1500-meters. (more)
Five members of the Penn State women's lacrosse team have been recognized with 2012 All-American Lacrosse Conference honors, the league office announced on Wednesday (May 2). (more)
Six members of the Penn State men's volleyball team (21-5) picked up seven All-EIVA awards, conference officials announced Monday (April 23). Redshirt senior Joe Sunder (Greensburg, Pa.) was named the Uvaldo Acosta Memorial Player of the Year for the second consecutive year, and was also selected to the All-EIVA first team. (more)
Junior Sharaya Musser (Colorado Springs, Colo.) was named the 2012 Big Ten Gymnast of the Year at the Big Ten Gymnastics Championships hosted by the University of the Iowa. Penn State finished sixth at the championships, posting a team score of 195.700. (more)
For only the third time in the 18-year history of college wrestling's top award, a sophomore has won the Dan Hodge Trophy. Penn State's NCAA champ David Taylor was named the 2012 Hodge winner. Only his college coach, Cael Sanderson, and Iowa's Brent Metcalf, ever received the honor as a sophomore. Sanderson won the award in 2000 after winning his second NCAA title for Iowa State. The former Cyclone went on to win the Hodge two more times and is the only three-time Hodge winner. (more)
The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team added three new individual champions to its ledgers to complete a stellar run to the 2012 NCAA National Championship. Senior Frank Molinaro (Barnegat, N.J.), sophomore David Taylor (St. Paris, Ohio) and sophomore Ed Ruth (Harrisburg, Pa.) all claimed crowns as Penn State won its second straight NCAA team title. The Nittany Lions outdistanced second place Minnesota by a whopping 25.5 points. The Nittany Lions checked in with 143.0 points while the Gophers were second with 117.5. (more)
Freshman sensation Robby Creese (Mount Airy, Md.) has been named Mid-Atlantic Track Athlete of the Year, announced by the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Coaches' Association (USTFCCCA) on Monday (March 5). Creese, who was recently named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, is coming off another stellar performance over the weekend, as the rookie clocked a personal-best 3:58.94 for the mile at the Alex Wilson Invitational at Notre Dame - his second career sub-4:00 effort in the event. Creese's PR 3:58.94 currently stands 18th in Division I and tops among freshman. (more)
The Penn State Nittany Lion wrestling team was simply dominating on Sunday (March 4), crowning three repeat champions in a perfect title match run and rolling to the team's second straight Big Ten Championship. Penn State was nearly perfect throughout the Sunday session and ran away from both Minnesota and Iowa in the team title race. Penn State has also qualified nine wrestlers for NCAAs with a 10th alive for an at-large bid. Three Nittany Lions -- Frank Molinaro, David Taylor and Ruth -- repeated as Big Ten champions with each posting bonus point victorie (more)
An already sensational indoor campaign continues for Robby Creese (Mount Airy, Md.), as the Nittany Lion rookie was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, announced by conferences offices on Tuesday (Feb. 28). Creese played a major role in the Nittany Lion efforts at the Big Ten Indoor Championships at Nebraska last weekend, anchoring the winning distance medley relay, and coming back to finish third individually in the mile. (more)
When the Penn State men's swimming & diving team returned home from Iowa City, the Nittany Lions brought home the Big Ten Freshman of the Year (Nate Savoy of Reading, Pa.) and five new school records with them from Big Ten Championships. Savoy became Penn State's first Big Ten Freshman of the Year award recipient. Five Lions were named to All-Big Ten Second Team and Penn State etched 25 new Top 10 times in school history to the record books. (more)
