Darrell Hill Captures Shot Put Gold At Nationals, Isaiah Harris Turns Pro
Eleven Nittany Lions competed at the USA Track and Field National Championships over the weekend in Des Moines, Iowa.
Darrell Hill headlined the event for Penn State — helping continue the program’s dominance in shot put with his first-ever national title in the event. He’s the third athlete associated with the program to win the shot put title since 2013.
The 2016 Olympian won with a throw of more than 70 feet. Fellow alum and 2015 World Champion Joe Kovacs finished the competition in fifth.
Darrell Hill wins the shot put title throwing 21.57m #usatfoutdoors pic.twitter.com/7CVQCWZjfb
— FloTrack (@FloTrack) June 23, 2018
Until Isaiah Harris stormed across the line in first to take the 800 meter national title earlier this month, no Nittany Lion had won an NCAA Outdoor Championship on the track since 1973.
That will go down as the Penn State middle-distance star’s final collegiate race as he opted to forgo his final collegiate season and sign a professional deal with Nike prior to his 800-meter final at this weekend’s USATF Nationals.
He will still return to campus next year to complete his degree, per Penn State Track and Field.
“You know, I think I was just ready for more competitive meets and getting some Diamond League meets and preparing for the World Championships next year, versus running 30-something meets in a collegiate season,” Harris told reporters. “That was the biggest deciding factor for me. I think I’m ready for it and just excited to go race against the best in the world.”
Super excited to be apart of the @Flynnsports family and represent NIKE on the global stage! @Nike @NikeRunning #JustDoIt https://t.co/t7dYTRupv4
— zay (@Zay_800) June 24, 2018
Harris finished second in his first professional race behind 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Clayton Murphy — matching his finish from last year’s nationals that qualified him for the 2017 IAAF World Championships.
2018 isn’t world championship year, so these nationals don’t serve as a qualifying event. All eyes now turn to the rest of the season on the professional circuit — the Diamond League — as well as the 2019 World Championships in Qatar and 2020 Olympics in Tokyo.
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