Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1524108
1 2 A U G U S T 2 0 2 4 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M P enn State's most successful athletics program in recent years has been Cael Sanderson's perennial national champion wrestling team. Just as the Nittany Lions have been well-represented at the top of the podium during the past 13 NCAA tournaments, they are going to be well- represented at the upcoming Olympics. Three former PSU national champions will be in action after the Summer Games begin July 26 in Paris. Only a month re- moved from claiming his fourth NCAA crown, Aaron Brooks won the 86-kilo- gram title in April at the U.S. Olympic Wrestling Trials, while three-time col- legiate champ Zain Retherford captured a spot on Team USA at 65 kg. In addition, two-time NCAA champion Roman Bravo- Young will represent Mexico at 57 kg. Four members of Penn State's coaching staff will also be in Paris, with Sanderson and assistants Cody Sanderson, Casey Cunningham and Nick Lee serving as per- sonal coaches. The Lions will have three athletes in the track and field competition representing three countries. Headlining that trio is Joe Kovacs, a 2011 graduate who won silver medals in the shot put at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics. Kovacs finished second behind his rival Ryan Crouser at the U.S. Track and Field Trials in June. Penn State will also be represented in the major team sports, with three players on the American men's volleyball squad, two apiece on the field hockey and wom- en's soccer teams and one on the women's volleyball team. Goalkeeper Alyssa Naeher will be making her second appearance in the Olympic women's soccer competition. Naeher was a part of the American team that claimed a bronze medal in Tokyo dur- ing the 2020 Games. — Matt Herb Penn State Athletes Seek Gold In Paris Olympics Cheickna Traore Claims NCAA 200-Meter Championship After winning an NCAA title and setting a Division III record last year with his time of 20.25 seconds in the outdoor 200-me- ter race, Cheickna Traore decided he wanted to see what he could ac- complish at the Division I level, so he transferred from Ramapo (N.J.) College to Penn State. As it turned out, he was able to accomplish quite a lot. Traore, a graduate student from Linden, N.J., won the 200-meter Division I title at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships on June 8 at Eugene, Ore. The only runner in the final to break 20 sec- onds, Traore finished in 19.95. "It's been a long time coming," he said. "Last year I was the D-III champion in the 200, and this year I'm a Division I champion. I think it speaks volumes. It's crazy, surreal. It doesn't feel real right now." Traore became Penn State's first outdoor national champion since Isaiah Harris won the 800-meter title in 2018. He was the first Nittany Lion to win an outdoor sprint cham- pionship since Barney Ewell finished first in the 100- and 220-yard races in 1941. Traore already had the Olympic qualifying standard going into the NCAA Champion- ships, having posted a personal-best 19.93 in the 200 at the NCAA East Region first-round meet. He will compete in the Paris Games for his native Ivory Coast. — Matt Herb PENN STATE 2024 OLYMPIANS ATHLETES Name Sport Event Country Years at PSU Aaron Brooks Wrestling 86 kg USA 2020-24 Zain Retherford Wrestling 65 kg USA 2014-18 Roman Bravo-Young Wrestling 57 kg Mexico 2019-23 Miles Chamley-Watson Fencing Foil (team only) USA 2009-13 Margherita Guzzi Vincenti Fencing Epee USA 2010-13 Arianna Proietti Fencing Foil Italy 2021-pres. Samantha Catantan Fencing Foil Philippines 2021-24 Renata Knapik-Miazga* Fencing Foil Poland 2023-pres. Cheickna Traore Men's track and field 200m Ivory Coast 2023-24 Joe Kovacs Men's track and field Shot put USA 2008-11 Handal Roban Men's track and field 800m St. Vincent & the Grenadines 2022-pres. Phia Gladieux Field hockey — USA 2020-present Jenny Rizzo (provisional) Field hockey — USA 2015-18 Matt Anderson Men's volleyball — USA 2006-08 Max Holt Men's volleyball — USA 2006-09 Aaron Russell Men's volleyball — USA 2012-15 Haleigh Washington Women's volleyball — USA 2014-17 Sam Zakutney Men's gymnastics All-around Canada 2017-20 Stephen Nedoroscik Men's gymnastics Pommel horse USA 2017-20 Lynnzee Brown* Women's gymnastics Artistic gymnastics Haiti 2023-pres. Gabe Castano Men's swimming 50m freestyle Mexico Class of 2021 Eduardo Cisternas Men's swimming Freestyle Chile 2022-pres. Jack Harvey Men's swimming 100m backstroke Bermuda 2021-pres. Emma Harvey Women's swimming 100m backstroke Bermuda 2019-24 Alyssa Naeher Women's soccer — USA 2006-09 Sam Coffey Women's soccer — USA 2019-21 Momo Cisset Men's soccer — Mali 2023-pres. * Current PSU assistant coach COACHES Name Sport Country Years/position at PSU Cael Sanderson Wrestling Personal coach USA Current head coach Cody Sanderson Wrestling Personal coach USA Current associate head coach Casey Cunningham Wrestling Personal coach USA Current assistant coach Nick Lee Wrestling Personal coach USA Current assistant coach Tom Hovasse Men's basketball Head coach Japan 1985-89/forward Ryan Foster Track and field Personal coach USA Current associate head coach Tanisha Wright Women's basketball Scout USA 2001-05/guard TRAORE