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N ever count out Danae Rivers. That was one of the big takeaways from the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Cham- pionships earlier this month in Birming- ham, Ala. The Penn State middle distance stand- out didn't even know how many runners were ahead of her when she entered the final turn of the 800-meter race. "I think I was like fourth? Fifth? I don't know," she said. "But I've been in that posi- tion before, and if you're right there, my coaches tell me, every- body can close down the same. So I was like, I can close down the same, too. Let's go." That's just what she did. Rivers had to stay to the outside of the runners ahead of her to find her opening, but coming out of the turn, she shot right past everyone and outkicked Nia Akins of Penn at the finish line to take first place in 2 minutes, 3.69 seconds. It was a brilliant finish, and it gave Rivers a piece of school history, as her victory was the Nittany Lions' first- ever individual title at the women's in- door championships. "I feel like I was putting myself in some awkward positions in that race," she told reporters afterward. "There's still a lot to learn. But I had fun. That was the main thing today." Rivers, a junior from Derby, Conn., had competed in the distance medley relay, the mile and the 800 in previous appear- ances at indoor nationals. She qualified in the mile again this year but opted to focus on the 800, an event in which she finished seventh in 2018. "Danae worked very hard this season," head coach John Gondak said. "It was a tough decision choosing between the 800 and mile, as she qualified for the indoor championships in both events. She was very confident in her decision to run the 800 meters. She showed she wanted to win, and it was a great win for our pro- gram and for Penn State." The 800-meter title was the culmina- tion of a superb indoor season for Rivers. In the months leading up to nationals, she set a school record in the 800 with a time of 2:02.94, set a collegiate record in the 1,000-meter run (2:38.58) and ran the 10th-fastest mile in collegiate history when she clocked a 4:29.47. Rivers warmed up for nationals by win- ning her third consecutive Big Ten title in the 800, finishing in a meet-record time of 2:03.45 She wasn't the only Penn Stater to excel at indoor nationals this year. Freshman Alexis Holmes finished fourth in the 400-meter race, while senior Maddie Holmberg was ninth in the pentathlon. As a team, the Nittany Lions placed 11th and were the second-highest Big Ten fin- ishers, trailing only fourth-place Ohio State. Meanwhile, the Penn State men fin- ished in a tie for 41st. Morgan Shigo and David Lucas were fifth and eighth, re- spectively, in the weight throw, while Domenic Perretta was ninth in the 800. All six of the athletes who competed for Penn State at nationals earned All-Amer- ica honors. "I was very excited for the women's in- door program to finish as a top-11 team in the country and I'm proud of the team as a whole," Gondak said. "To finish with all six athletes in the top 10 in the country, that is a tremendous achievement for our program." ■ VARSITY VIEWS FINISHING KICK Danae Rivers comes on strong at the end to make history for the Nittany Lion track team | RIVERS N O T E B O O K MEN'S LACROSSE Sixth-ranked Penn State took down No. 3 Cornell, 19-13, in a rainy battle March 8 at the Crown Lacrosse Classic in Charlotte, N.C. The Nittany Lions came out 7ring, using a 9- 2 7rst-quarter advantage to carry them through the rest of the game. Cornell outscored the Lions 8-5 over the second and third quarters, but Penn State held a 5-3 advantage in the fourth quarter to clinch the victory. Penn State junior Gerard Arceri had a career-high 25 faceo8 wins and tied his personal best by scooping up 18 ground- balls. The possession advantage helped the Lions outshoot Cornell, 37-31. The Nittany Lion o8ense was orches- trated by redshirt junior Grant Ament, who did something that had not been done by a Nittany Lion since 1983. The Doylestown, Pa., native dished out nine assists, which tied the single-game school record set by Gary Martin in 1983. The performance gave Ament 38 assists on the season, surpassing his single-sea- son personal best set in 2016 when he recorded 34 assists. Junior Mac O'Keefe was on the receiv- ing end of several passes from Ament and 7nished the game with six goals for his sixth multigoal game of the season. Penn State wrapped up its visit to Charlotte two nights later by thrashing Jacksonville, 24-11. Heading into a March 23 trip to Cleveland State, the Lions were 6-1 on the season. BASEBALL A seven-run seventh inning highlighted by a Gavin Homer grand slam powered Penn State to a series- clinching win over UCF, 11-5, in non-

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