Jan. 29, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.: January 29, 2008 - Following tremendous weekend performances at the Penn State National Invitational, a trio of Nittany Lion athletes have earned Big Ten Athlete of the Week accolades, with senior Dominique Blake (Bronx, N.Y.), taking this week's track athlete citation, and junior Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.) claiming the field event nod on the women's side, and freshman sensation Samuel Borchers (Yellow Springs, Ohio) grabbing track athlete of the week honors for the men.
Blake hung tough against some sensational competition, finishing as the top collegian - second to only Cynetheia Rooks, a former NCAA champion while at LSU - with a season-low and provisional-qualifying 54.30. Blake also ran the lead-off leg on the Lions' winning 4x400, which clocked an NCAA-leading 3:38.21. Blake opened with a 54.1 spilt, following by a 55.3 from Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.), Fawn Dorr (Akron, N.Y.) provided a 54.3 on the third leg, handing off to anchor Hunter, who laid down a gutsy 54.0 to hold off a hard-charging Tennessee squad, which also dipped under the provisional standard (3:39.85). The Big Ten citation is the first for Blake.
Hunter scored an outstanding 4073 points, breaking her own school standard by 14 points, and becoming this year's first automatic qualifier in the event. Hunter's score is also the 10th best in the world this year, according to IAAF. Hunter started the day with a bang, clocking 7.96 in the 55-meter hurdles, which ties her lifetime best. In second with two events remaining, the junior popped a sensational season-best 19-11(6.07) in the long jump, besting the rest of the field by nearly two feet, and adding an additional 871 points to her total. Hunter finished off with a time of 2:22.15 in the 800-meters, guaranteeing the victory over a tremendous field, in which four athletes scored automatic or provisional totals. Hunter was also named Penn State Athlete of the Week for her outstanding efforts.
Borchers has now officially arrived on the collegiate scene after a storied high school career, posting a provisional qualifying 4:01.98 for the mile run - the fourth fastest time by a collegian this year. Borchers outstanding performance was also good for his second school record in as many weeks, breaking Nittany Lion legend Greg Fredericks' long standing 4:02.30 from 1972. Borchers opened at 2:02.2, before splitting 1:59.0 on his final half, including a 57.9 on the final 400, and a 28.0 on his final lap. This week's award was the first of Borchers' young career.
The Nittany Lions return to action this weekend at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup on Feb. 1-2, at Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track.