| Jennifer Leatherman was named Big Ten's Track and Field Athlete of the Year after she defended her Indoor Big Ten Championship titles in the shot put and 20 lb. weight throw. Leatherman was been named Big Ten Athlete of the Week twice this season. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.; March 1, 2006 - The 2006 All-Big Ten women??s track and field teams were announced today by the Big Ten Office. The Big Ten honored five Penn State women??s track and field athletes with All-Big Ten status.
All-American, All-Big Ten and senior Jennifer Leatherman (Yellville, Arkansas) was named Big Ten's Track and Field Athlete of the Year. Leatherman defended her Indoor Big Ten Championship titles in the shot put and 20 lb. weight throw this past weekend. Leatherman has been named Big Ten Athlete of the Week twice this season as well.
Leatherman finished first in the 20 lb. weight throw with a toss of 74-10 1?2.
Her throw broke a Camp Randall, Big Ten meet and All-Big Ten record with her NCAA automatic qualifying throw. In the shot put Leatherman also finished first with an NCAA provisional qualifying throw of 53-5.
Members of Penn State??s 4x400 meter relay team at the Big Ten Championships garnered All-Big Ten status as well. The relay team included junior and All-American Shana Cox (Westbury, New York), junior Briene Simmons (Decatur, Georgia), freshman Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Georgia) and sophomore Dominique Blake (Bronx, New York). The relay team broke a Camp Randall record and finished first in the event with a time of 3:41.98.
Senior Sara Shoaff (Harrisburg, Pennsylvania) was honored with Penn State??s Big Ten sportsmanship award. At the Big Ten Championships Shoaff finished seventh in the 200 meter dash with a time of 24.60.