Penn State's Rivers, Holmberg pick up track & field hardware
Penn State pulled a sweep in the women’s regional track & field awards.
Nittany Lions Danae Rivers (track) and Maddie Holmberg (field) were named U.S Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association athletes of the year in the Mid-Atlantic Region. Both women will compete in the NCAA Division I Indoor Championships this week in Birmingham, Ala.
A third-time recipient of the award, Rivers won her third straight 800-meter title last week at the Big Ten Indoor Championships and broke the conference meet record with a time of 2 minutes, 3.45 seconds. The junior set the NCAA record in the 1,000-meter distance race in 2:38.58.
Holmberg, a senior and a Hempfield graduate, took seventh in the pentathlon last season at the national meet, currently is ranked sixth in the event with 4,219 points.
She was an All-American last season.
Holmberg is the first Nittany Lion to win the field award since since Rachel Fatherly in 2016.
Bill Beckner Jr. is a TribLive reporter covering local sports in Westmoreland County. He can be reached at bbeckner@triblive.com.
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