Here’s what to know about all the Penn Staters competing in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics

The Tokyo Olympic Games are right around the corner, and Penn State has a sizable footprint on the world stage this year. The blue and white has sent 18 athletes (including alternates), a team physician and a handful of coaches to this year’s Games, which are set to open Friday.

This group of Nittany Lions has some very big shoes to fill after 22 different Penn State alumni appeared in the Rio Games and won eight total medals — seven bronze and one silver.

Some familiar faces are set return to the games from Rio, but a bunch of first-time Olympians have joined the elite — all of whom will be hoping to win the elusive gold medal that evaded the school’s representatives last time.

The hopefuls span nine different sports and six countries, but all share the Penn State spirit and drive to succeed.

Track and Field

Two Nittany Lion alumni will be taking the field in Tokyo, both of whom will be throwing for Team USA. Joe Kovacs (2012) will be competing in the shot put and Michael Shuey (2017) in the javelin.

Shuey, a 2012 Johnsonburg High School grad who will be competing in his first Olympics, is thankful for all of the support that he receives from his home state of Pennsylvania but said that the main goal of Tokyo is to just to have a good time in the competition to go along with a good performance.

“With everything lining up the way it’s going, I need to make the finals in the Olympics,” Shuey said. “If you make that competition, anything is possible.”

Fellow Pennsylvanian Kovacs, of Nazareth, will be making his second Olympic experience for Team USA, but he has a bigger goal of winning in mind as he enters Tokyo as the reigning silver medalist from 2016.

Penn State track and field head coach John Gondak is proud of what Penn State has been able to do for its athletes in the past Olympics. He highlighted that these two are only a small sample of the many other previous Olympians and near misses from this past year’s qualifying competition.

“We have had a great tradition in the throws, Penn State has always been known for its throws,” Gondak said. “They are two of our very best and some of the best in the world right now.”

Women’s Soccer

Penn State will have two athlete representatives from its women’s soccer program, as well as head coach Erica Dambach appearing on the sidelines as an assistant coach for the United States on its quest for gold to make up for 2016’s quarterfinal loss to Sweden.

“The pinnacle of a coaching career (is) to represent your country, and in the world games and the Olympic Games,” Dambach said. “It’s so sentimental and, it’s a little bit surreal, at times.”

That quest has kicked off to a rocky start though, as Team USA dropped a big group stage loss to Sweden, 3-0, to kick off its 2021 Olympic campaign.

Alyssa Naeher (2009) will be making her second Olympic appearance, but her first as the starting goalie for Team USA. A mainstay on the U.S. Women’s National Team since the conclusion of the Olympics in Rio in 2016, she will be anchoring a defense for a star-studded American team coming in off of a World Cup victory in 2019.

“I have really grown close with her and … enjoyed the opportunity to really get to know her and watch her grow, develop and become the best goalkeeper in the world,” Dambach said.

Erin McLeod (2005) also made an Olympic team. The goalkeeper is an alternate for the Canadian national team, the same squad that won bronze in the prior Olympics.

Swimming and Diving

Three swimmers, all of whom competed for coach Tim Murphy at Penn State, will represent two different countries in Tokyo. Gabe Castaño and Melissa Rodriguez (2016) will be donning their swim caps for Mexico and Shane Ryan (2015) for Ireland.

“They’ve earned a lifetime honor of being called an Olympian,” Murphy said. “It’s been pretty neat to watch it happen and we’re excited to watch them get up on the blocks at the Olympics, and for the most part, swim faster than they ever have in their lives.”

Castaño, who was a senior this past season, has the opportunity to return to campus for one final year to compete for Penn State again as a graduate student following no loss of eligibility due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

His Olympic trainer and Penn State sprints coach Matt Hurst says he shares a lot of qualities with Rodriguez and Ryan, both of whom competed in Rio.

“I think with all three of them, there was the unwavering belief that they belong at that level,” Hurst said. “Just that intangible of having, the heart, the drive, the focus, the desire to at any given moment stand behind the block and go all out and race. They all needed to race.”

Men’s Volleyball

The United States will have three Penn State representatives on its men’s volleyball roster, as Matt Anderson (2008) and Max Holt (2009) will be returning to the team for another Olympic campaign and Aaron Russell (2015) will be listed as an alternate.

All three competed on the American team that won bronze in 2016, but the familiar faces have something to prove, and hope to leave Tokyo with a better result.

Penn State men’s volleyball head coach Mark Pavlik has made sending athletes to the Olympics a tradition — his program sent five in 2016.

“I think for us, it certainly speaks volumes for the program,” Pavlik said. “(Penn State) has been able to put these guys in a position where they can achieve excellence.”

Women’s Volleyball

Penn State also has a noticeable presence on the U.S. women’s volleyball team, hosting another three selections. Micha Hancock (2015) and Haleigh Washington (2018) were both named to the 12-player roster, and Megan Courtney (2015) was picked as an alternate.

The three were all selected to their first Games and boast spots on an impressive team that is ranked first by the International Federation of Volleyball. The USA team won bronze in 2016.

Wrestling

Only one former PSU wrestler escaped the Olympic trials to make it onto Team USA’s Olympic roster, that being school legend David Taylor (2017).

Taylor will finally get his chance to compete in the Olympics in men’s freestyle after three previous failed attempts to qualify, a weight class increase to 86kgs. and a torn ACL. Despite the multiple hurdles overcome by Taylor, he’s moved on from the past and has his eyes locked in on the world competition.

“Ultimately, I tend to focus on doing what I do and scoring points,” Taylor said. “And I believe I can have a very successful Olympic campaign.”

While Taylor will be the only former Nittany Lion competing on the wrestling mat, he’ll be far from alone. Penn State head coach Cael Sanderson, associate head coach Cody Sanderson and assistant coach Casey Cunningham are all also in Tokyo as personal coaches to Taylor and his fellow Nittany Lion Wrestling Club members 2016 reigning gold medalists Kyle Snyder and Helen Maroulis and 2017 World silver medalist Thomas Gilman.

Other NLWC members hitting the mat in Tokyo are Bekzod Abdurakhmonov (Uzbekistan), Franklin Gomez (Puerto Rico) and Jane Valencia (Mexico).

Men’s Fencing

The most decorated program at Penn State will be sending three athletes to Tokyo, all of whom will be competing for different countries.

Andrew Mackiewicz (2018) will compete for the U.S., Mohamed Hassan (2019) for Egypt, and Kaito Streets (2016) for the host country, Japan. All three fencers will be competing on the Olympic stage for the first time in their young careers.

Mackiewicz and Streets will both be competing in the men’s saber event, while Hassan will compete in the foil competition.

Head fencing coach Wes Glon, who had two former athletes win bronze medals in 2016, trusts that these athletes will continue to make winning and appearing at the Olympics a habit for Penn State alumni.

“They are ready to reach their top dream, which is to medal at the Olympics,” Glon said. “This would be the next step in the program, we are happy to continue this winning tradition and think there will be more (Penn State athletes) on future Olympic teams.”

Women’s Rugby

Kayla Canett-Oca (2019), is another first-time Olympian who will be taking the field in Tokyo. Cannett-Oca is a halfback/flyhalf on Team USA’s starting roster.

The United States finished the 2016 Olympics with a 19-5 win over France for fifth place, and currently sit at sixth place in the World Rugby rankings going into the Olympics.

Women’s basketball

Although there are no athletes competing in the women’s basketball event in Tokyo, Penn State will have a small presence — a home court one at that. Tom Hovasse, 1989 graduate and former Nittany Lion basketball player, is the head coach of Japanese Women’s National Team.

Hovasse joins fencer Kaito Streets as the two Nittany lions competing for the host country.

Women’s gymnastics

Dr. Ellen Casey, a 2000 grad, is the team physician for the Team USA Women’s Senior National Team.

Casey was a five-time All-American at Penn State, and has since become a physician in physical medicine and rehabilitation, specializing in sports and spine medicine.