Tag: Joe Kovacs

Penn State football commit J’ven Williams breaks state shot put record

Penn State football commit J’Ven Williams dominates at the Pennsylvania high school track and field championships

One of Penn State’s top recruits lined up in the Class of 2023 is making sure to leave his mark on his high school track and field career before he makes the jump to play offensive line for the Nittany Lions. [autotag]J’ven Williams[/autotag] set a new high school record in Pennsylvania at the PIAA Class 2A championships on Saturday by launching a shot 66 feet 7.75 inches.

Not only did Williams crush it in the shot put, but he also won the gold medal in the discus event held this weekend at Shippensburg University. Not a bad way to spend a Memorial Day weekend in the Cumberland Valley.

 

Ironically, Williams broke a state record that stood for an impressive 15 years. The record was previously set by [autotag]Joe Kovacs[/autotag], a Penn State track and field legend in his own right. Kovacs won the silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics last summer, earning his second career Olympic medal and adding to his medal collection.

Williams is a four-star offensive lineman recruit in Penn State’s Class of 2023. Williams has been ranked as the top recruit in the state of Pennsylvania, and he could arguably be the top offensive lineman in Penn State’s next recruiting class. Proving not to just be a shot put master, Williams was also named a First-Team All-County tackle and the offensive lineman of the year last season.

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Olympics: Penn State’s Joe Kovacs wins silver in shotput final

Joe Kovacs is taking home the first Olympic medal by a Penn Stater in Tokyo

Penn State’s own Joe Kovacs added to his medal collection on Thursday at the Tokyo Olympics. Kovacs finished second in the shotput event to fellow American Ryan Crouser.

Kovacs won his second career Olympic medal, and it is the fifth medal of Kovacs’s career. As he boasted on Twitter following the Olympic final, he has never finished below a silver medal.

Kovacs certainly should not be disappointed in his second-place finish at the Olympics. His American rival, Crouser, happened to set a new Olympic record for the event as he took home the gold medal in Tokyo. Although it came just shy of his previous world record, Crouser shot a distance of 23.3 meters. Kovacs shot a distance of 22.65 meters in the final event.

New Zealand’s Tomas Walsh took the bronze with a distance of 22.47 meters.

Kovacs claimed the first medal by a former Nittany Lion, but more are surely on the way soon.

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Every Penn State Olympian athlete taking part in the Tokyo Olympics

Current or former Penn State athletes will represent three countries in nine events at the Tokyo Olympics.

Penn State will be represented well at the Tokyo Olympics, which of course have been delayed a year due to the pandemic. From track and field events to the volleyball court and the wrestling mats, Nittany Lions and former Nittany Lions will be competing on the ultimate international level this summer in Tokyo.

This is an attempt to make sure we have listed every single Olympic athlete competing with some form of tie to Penn State. As it stands, Nittany Lions will be representing three different countries in a total of nine individual or team events.

If you want to see the entire roster of Olympians representing the United States, check out this collection from USA TODAY Sports.

Here’s a look at this year’s Olympic athletes who are or once were a Penn State athlete.

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