| Freshman Bridget Franek anchored the distance medley relay to a bronze medal finish, and posted the fastest mile time in qualifying, Saturday at the Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships. |
CHAMPAIGN, Ill.: February 24, 2007 - With day one of the 2007 Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships in the books, the Nittany Lion women are set up for a stellar Sunday, as six athletes claimed a total of 10 spots in tomorrow??s final rounds. With six events scored, Penn State sits in sixth place with 20 points. Minnesota has the early lead with 59, with Michigan (36), Purdue (35), Wisconsin (24), and Illinois (21) rounding out the top five.
The distance medley relay posted the highest finish of the day, earning bronze-medal honors, thanks to a sizzling anchor leg by freshman Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio). Franek split 4:47.44 on the mile, edging Wisconsin with an outstanding finishing kick to capture third and stop the clock at 11:34.55.
Sophomore Meghan Noecker (Reading, Pa.) led off the relay with a 3:33.41 on the 1200-meter leg, followed by a 55.91 400-meter split from Dominique Blake (Bronx, N.Y.). Megan Hutchinson (Quakertown, Pa.) covered the 800-meter portion, running 2:17.64. Michigan won the race with a Big Ten record 11:19.68. Minnesota took second in 11:31.15.
Franek was also outstanding individually, clocking a personal-best and NCAA provisional-qualifying 4:46.33 in the mile to punch her ticket to tomorrow??s final. Franek??s time was the fastest of the day.
Adding to the Lions?? day-one total was junior Lena Bettis (Riverside, Calif.), who notched a fourth-place finish in the long jump with a lifetime-best 19-8.75 (6.01m).
Also finishing fourth was Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.) in the pentathlon. Hunter tallied 3929, earning five points towards the team total. Senior Amber Strouse (State College, Pa.) also scored in the multi-events, collecting a total of 3727, good for sixth.
Senior Toya Woods (New Rochelle, N.Y.) posted a personal-best 47-1 (14.35m) in the shot put, earning eighth-place overall.
A trio of Lions advanced to tomorrow??s 400-meter final, led by junior Shana Cox (Westbury, N.Y.), who won her heat in 55.35. Blake also placed first in her section, going 55.78. Briene Simmons (Decatur, Ga.) ran a personal-record 55.12 to get through to Sunday??s championship heats. Simmons will also compete in the 600-meter final after running 1:31.89 in the opening round.
Cox also made it back in the 200-meters, going 24.04 in the preliminaries, the second-fastest time of the day. Teammate Lauren Burns (Suwanee, Ga.) will also compete in tomorrow??s final, running 24.38.
Burns also clocked one of the top eight times in the 60-meter dash with a mark of 7.54. Joining Burns in the 60 final will be sophomore Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.), who earned the eighth and final spot with a personal-best 7.70. Barber matched her own lifetime-low in the 60-meter hurdles, going 8.25, the second-best mark in qualifying.
Action continues with the weight throw, Sunday morning at 10 a.m. The championships are scheduled to wrap up at 3:30 p.m., with the 4x400-meter relay.