Penn State Sports Magazine
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him as he walked off the track. "I was probably the happiest fourth- place person at that time because I wasn't expecting that to happen," he said. "But at the same time, it gave me the fuel to keep going these next four years and then to ;nally make this team. That's been the ultimate goal." Kovacs, who is now based at the Olympic Training Center in Chula Vista, Calif., has come a long way since ;rst taking up the sport. A native of Nazareth, Pa., he launched his ;rst throws from a spray- painted circle in his high school parking lot. His mother, Joanna Kovacs, helped coach him during the week, and on Sun- days they would drive to Harrisburg to see a club coach, Glen Thompson. His mom knows better than anyone how high Kovacs has set his sights. "I know Joey is a record man," Joanna Kovacs said. "He has goals. Whether it happens here, whether it happens in Rio or whether it happens in the Diamond League, he has goals [that he wants to] attain this year." Simply qualifying for the U.S. team was a major achievement. While some of his international rivals simply have to meet the Olympic standard to make their re- spective teams, the U.S. team has an ex- tremely deep talent pool from which to draw, and only the top three ;nishers at the trials qualify. "If you know you're going to be the best in the United States, you know you can be the best in the world. If you make the United States team in the shot put, you have to expect at least a medal," Ko- vacs said. "I think that's how every guy here would think, because we probably have six of the top 10 [throwers] in the world." Kovacs views it all as just another step, though. Just as he came out of college and wanted to throw professionally and then learned he could be a world champion, the next step is to be not only an Olympian, but an Olympic medalist. And 14 of his family members have their tickets to Rio to hopefully see him ac- complish his next goal. ■ Darrell Hill made his ;rst Olympic team in July, as he threw a personal-best 70 feet, 11¾ inches in the shot put during the second round of the U.S. trials in Eu- gene, Ore. Hill was third behind Ryan Crouser, a two- time NCAA champion during his career at Texas, and Joe Kovacs, a former Penn State teammate and current training partner at the Olympic Training Cen- ter. A=er the results were in, the two former Nittany Lions bear hugged on the in;eld. "[Joe] was just like, 'We're going to Rio!' " Hill said. In 2015 Hill was runner-up at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships with the highest ;nish of his collegiate career. But he knew he could do more. He went to Chula Vista, Calif., to train along- side Kovacs and Crouser under the guid- ance of throwing coach Art Venegas. "This is something I always knew I was capable of, so you have that goal of training for Rio coming into the year," Hill said. "I'm just glad to see the hard work pay o<." And with three from his training group on the team, Hill is excited for the journey to Brazil. "This is stuff we talk about for months on end going in," he said. "So after you execute it, you just kind of look at your training partner and say, 'Hey, we did it!' " – LINDSAY ROSSMILLER PSU athletes prepare for Summer Games Four years ago in London, a school- record 19 athletes with Penn State ties competed in the Summer Olympic Games. Those athletes brought home ;ve medals, the most for a Nittany Lion contingent since 1924. This year another group of Penn State competitors are headed to the Games, which are set to take place Aug. 5-21 in Rio de Janeiro. Here's a rundown of the PSU athletes who had quali;ed for the Summer Olympics as of early July: CYCLING Matt Baranoski, a Penn State undergraduate from Perkasie, Pa., will compete in the men's keirin event. The 22-year-old Baranoski has won eight national titles. He is slated to receive his degree in electrical en- gineering in December. Bobby Lea, a 2006 graduate, will be competing in his third Olympics, having quali;ed in the omnium. FENCING Miles Chamley-Watson, a 2013 graduate, will be competing in his second Olympics, having ;nished 25th in the individual foil competi- tion at the 2012 Games. The 6-foot- 4 Chamley, who doubles as a fashion model, is the ;rst American ever to win an individual senior world championship. MEN'S VOLLEYBALL Three former Nittany Lions will compete on the 12-man USA squad: outside hitter Matt Anderson, middle blocker Max Holt and opposite hitter Aaron Rus- sell, giving Penn State more athletes on the roster than any other school. Anderson and Holt both helped the Lions capture the 2008 NCAA cham- Former Nittany Lion teammate Hill joins Kovacs on U.S. Olympic roster HILL O LY M P I C S D I G E S T