| Gayle Hunter placed seventh in the heptathlon at the AT&T US Track and Field Championships. |
INDIANAPOLIS: June 23, 2007 ?C Sophomore Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.) placed seventh in the heptathlon, Saturday at the AT&T US Track and Field Championships, while teammates Shana Cox (Westbury, N.Y.) and Leah Rosenfeld (Ridgefield, Conn.) posted eighth-place efforts in their respective events. Nittany Lion volunteer coach GiGi Johnson took bronze-medal honors in the heptathlon, earning a spot on the US World Championship team.
Hunter had an outstanding day two, recording season bests in two of the three events. Hunter??s 20-6.25 (6.25) in the long jump was the second-farthest mark of the day, while her 118-10 (36.23) was a lifetime bests. Hunter closed out her 2007 campaign, running 2:19.29 over 800-meters to finish with 5600 points. Johnson also closed out the two-day competition with a solid 800, clocking 2:19.40 to win her heat. Johnson totaled 6002 points for the third-place finish. Her other marks included a leap of 19-11.75 (6.09) in the long jump and a throw 130-8 (39.83) in the javelin. Nittany Lion alum Ryan Olkowski placed 10th in the decathlon, scoring 7503.
Cox ran another outstanding race to finish eighth in one of the hottest races of the day, running 52.23. Cox, who was the runner-up at the NCAA meet, was one of just two collegiates in the final. Dee Dee Trotter won the quarter, with a sizzling 49.64 ?C the fastest time in the world this year.
Rosenfeld placed eighth in the women??s junior 1500-meters, clocking 4:34.58.
Freshman Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) posted yet another stellar effort in the 3000-meter steeplechase, placing 12th in 10:10.36 in one of the best steeple fields in US history. Franek was one of just a handful of collegiates in the field and the only NCAA rookie. Colorado??s Jenny Barringer won the race in 9:34.64, followed by Anna Willard, formerly of Michigan, in 9:34.72. The times were the second and third fastest ever run by Americans.
Competition in Indianapolis concludes tomorrow. Ryan Fritz (Parkesburg, Pa.) is the only Nittany Lion left to compete, and will go in the high jump at 12:15 p.m.