Blue White Illustrated

W hen he broke the longstanding outdoor world shot put record by more than 10 inches at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials last month, Ryan Crouser might have seemed to gain the upper hand on his longtime rival, former Penn State thrower Joe Ko- vacs. And who knows? Maybe he did. But maybe he didn't. Crouser and Ko- vacs have been battling for years now. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Crouser won gold while Kovacs took silver. Three years later, at the Outdoor World Championships, it was Kovacs who came out on top. Now, after finish- ing one-two at the Olympic trials June 18 in Eugene, Ore., they are set to resume their rivalry in Tokyo, and Kovacs isn't conced- ing anything. "I'm happy that he did it," the former Nittany Lion said. "I had one like that in warmups and I wish I could have thrown it [in competition]. But it's good. Tune into the Olympic shot put." Penn State fans will definitely want to mark their calendars. And when the Summer Games commence on July 23, those fans will also want to keep an eye on the volleyball, men's wrestling, men's fencing, men's swimming and women's soccer competitions, all of which are ex- pected to feature athletes with PSU ties. Befitting a school that has two nation- ally competitive programs, Penn State will be well-represented on the Olympic volleyball courts, as Micha Hancock and Haleigh Washington made the women's team, while Matt Anderson and Max Holt were named to the men's squad. In addi- tion, former Penn State All-American Megan Courtney was named an alternate to the women's volleyball team, while Aaron Russell will be an alternate on the men's side. Hancock and Washington both were three-time All-Americans at Penn State, and Hancock was the setter on two of the Nittany Lions' seven national champi- onship teams. Penn State's title-winning 2014 team featured Hancock, Washington and Courtney, with all three claiming major awards. Hancock was the AVCA National Player of the Year, Courtney was MVP of the NCAA tournament, and Washington was Big Ten Freshman of the Year. More recently, the three Penn Staters have been playing professionally in Italy – Hancock and Washington for Igor Gor- gonzola Novara, and Courtney for Savino Del Bene Scandicci. Team USA coach Karch Kiraly told Vol- leyballMag.com that he had a difficult time choosing two setters from a talent pool that included three for- mer Big Ten standouts: Han- cock, Illinois alum Jordyn Poulter and Wisconsin alum Lauren Carlini. Kiraly ended up picking Hancock and Poul- VARSITY VIEWS GOLD STANDARD Penn State alumni head to Tokyo seeking Olympic glory | TAKING HIS SHOT Kovacs is getting set to make his sec- ond Olympic ap- pearance. Photo by Adam Eberhardt/ TrackTown USA

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