March 11, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - The 13th-ranked Nittany Lion women's track and field team, coming off a third-place finish in the most competitive field on record at recent Big Ten Championships, will travel to Fayetteville, Ark., this weekend for the NCAA Indoor Championships, fielding a squad that features five All-Americans, including 400-meter specialist and seven-time NCAA All-American Shana Cox (Westbury, N.Y.). Cox, who is ranked fourth nationally in the quarter mile, leads an experienced-laden squad in which six of the seven Lion competitors already have at least three NCAA appearances on their resumes.
The seasoned Lion squad includes senior Dominique Blake (Bronx,N.Y.),who is rated 11th in the 400, and Briene Simmons (Decatur, Ga.), a two-time All-American who will run the relay this weekend. Making her fourth appearance at the NCAA Championships is junior Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.), the eighth-ranked 60-meter hurdler in the competition and Penn State record holder in the event at 8.19. Blake, Simmons, Cox, and Barber were all members of the Nittany Lion's All-America relay in 2007, and are hungry to improve on last year's fourth-place finish, which was the first All-America finish by a 4x400 in Penn State history. The 2008 version of the Lion mile relay is the sixth fastest in the NCAA.
Representing the Lions in the distance events will be sophomore Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio), who has qualified in both the 3,000-meters and 5,000-meters. In just her second year of competition, Franek is already a veteran on the national stage, having made the NCAA meet in cross country or track and field a grand total of five times. Junior Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.) will take on an outstanding field in the pentathlon, looking to improve upon her 10th-place finish at last year's event, and carry the momentum for her eighth-place and All-America standing in the heptathlon last outdoor season. Hunter, along with Cox, recently earned Mid-Atlantic Region Athlete of the Year honors with Hunter taking field athlete accolades, and Cox garnering the track athlete distinction.
The lone newcomer in the Lions' travel party is sophomore Fawn Dorr (Akron, N.Y.), who despite making her first appearance at the Division I Championships this weekend, is no stranger to high level performances as she is already an NCAA Champion at the Division III level, while competing for Cortland State in 2007.
Action gets under on Friday, March 14, and concludes on Saturday, March 15. Keep up with all the action via live results at www.flashresults.com, and look for full Nittany Lion recaps following both days at www.GoPSUsports.com.
Penn State Competition Schedule
| Friday Schedule | ||
| 5:20 p.m. | Women's 60-meter hurdles | Prelim |
| ** Aleesha Barber ** | ||
| 5:50 p.m. | Women's 400-meter dash | Prelim |
| ** Shana Cox ** | ||
| ** Dominique Blake ** | ||
| 8:20 p.m. | Women's 60-meter hurdles | Final |
| 8:30 p.m. | Women's 5,000-meter run | Final |
| ** Bridget Franek** | ||
| Saturday Schedule | ||
| 11:30 a.m | Women's Pentathlon 60-meter hurdles High Jump Shot Put Long Jump 800-Meters ** Gayle Hunter ** | |
| 7:05 p.m. | Women's 400-meter dash | Final |
| 7:50 p.m. | Women's 3,000-meter Run | Final |
| ** Bridget Franek ** | ||
| 8:20 p.m. | Women's 1,600-meter relay | Final |
| ** Penn State ** | ||