UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.: May 17, 2007 - On the heels of a pair of bronze-medal finishes at last weekend??s Big Ten Track and Field Championships, Nittany Lion freshman Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) has been named Big Ten Freshman of the Year, announced by conference offices on Wednesday night. Franek is the second Nittany Lion to win the award after Donna Fidler claimed first-year honors in 1996. Meanwhile, nine Lions claimed All-Big Ten recognition with a first or second-place finish at the championship event.
Franek placed third in the 3000-meter steeplechase last Saturday evening, clocking 10:05.96, as the top freshman in the field. Prior to the conference championships, Franek won the steeple at the prestigious Penn Relays, running a school-record 9:59.21, which remains the fourth fastest in the NCAA this season.
The rookie bounced back to run the 5000-meters on Sunday, taking third in 16:26.86, capturing the regional-qualifying standard in her first-career attempt in the event. Franek finished just three seconds behind gold-medalist Anna Willard from Michigan, who would later garner Athlete of the Championships, and Athlete of the Year honors.
Franek was one of just three freshmen to notch a scoring performance and the only frosh to make the medal stand in a distance event over the weekend, as Wisconsin??s Hanna Grinaker placed seventh in the 5000, and sixth in the 10,000-meters, while fellow Badger rookie Claire Maduza finished eighth in the 10K. Franek??s 12 points were also the most of any rookie in the competition, just ahead of Indiana??s Vera Neuenswander, who claimed 10 points with her pole vault victory.
A total of seven Lions earned spots on the All-Big Ten first team including Penn State and conference record setter Allen Pettner (Mercersburg, Pa.). Pettner threw a towering 239-9 (73.09) to win his second-consecutive conference javelin title. Pettner??s mark is also the second best throw in the country this season. Also earning first team recognition was high jump champion Ryan Fritz (Octorara, Pa.) as well as the women??s 4x400-meter team. The squad, which captured Penn State??s fourth-consecutive in the event, included Briene Simmons (Decatur, Ga.), Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.), Dominique Blake (Bronx, N.Y.), and Shana Cox (Westbury, N.Y.). Freshman Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.) also earned all-conference honors with a win in the 400-meter hurdles - her first-career individual title.
Earning second team nods were Tanner Evak (State College, Pa.) and Heidi Nadeau (North Hampton, N.H.) in the javelin, Chris Morrisey (Ligonier, Pa.) in the decathlon, and Christen Clemson (Cortland, Ohio) in the discus.
Senior Kim Markel (Wexford, Pa.) and sophomore Tyler McCandless (Allentown, Pa.) also received conference recognition as Penn State??s recipients of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
After the weekend of recovery, the Nittany Lions head to Gainesville, Fla., for the NCAA East Regional Championships on May 25-26. The top five finishers in each event will earn automatic bids to the NCAA Championships on June 6-9, in Sacramento, Calif.