| Bridget Franek scored her first career Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week award on Tuesday, after winning the Penn Relays steeplechase last week. |
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.: May 1, 2007 - Freshman Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio), and sophomore Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.) have been named Big Ten Athletes of the Week, bringing the Nittany Lion total to six conference award winners this spring. The distinction is the first of Franek??s career, and the second for Hunter.
Franek shattered the Penn State record in the steeplechase last week, running a blistering 9:59.21 to better Molly Landreth??s 10:07.78 from 2003. Franek captured top honors at the prestigious Penn Relays, clocking the second-fastest time ever run at historic Franklin Field. Franek??s mark is also the best in the Big Ten, and the third fastest in the NCAA this spring.
Franek has had an outstanding rookie campaign thus far, notching regional qualifiers in both the 1500-meters (4:21.16) and the steeplechase. This coming after the rookie finished 11th in the mile at the NCAA Indoor Championships, to go along with multiple scoring performances at the indoor conference meet.
Hunter scored a career-record and NCAA automatic-qualifying 5606 points to win the Penn Relays heptathlon, posting season-best marks in five of the seven events. The sophomore ran away with competition, winning by nearly 700 points with the seventh-highest score in the nation, and second best in the Big Ten.
| Gayle Hunter posted an NCAA automatic-qualifying score of 5606 in heptathlon, winning the event at the prestigious Penn Relays. |
Hunter, also a regional qualifier in the long jump, is no stranger to high level competition having made appearances at three NCAA meets, with her ticket already punched for this spring??s championships. The sophomore placed 10th in the pentathlon last winter, after finishing fourth in the conference in the same event.
The Nittany Lions host one final tune-up this weekend with the Penn State Open on May 5, before rolling into the Big Ten Championships, on May 11-13, also at Nittany Lion Track.