March 5, 2008
Complete List of Big Ten Award Winners
Women
Men
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa: March 5, 2008 - After helping the Nittany Lions to a third-place finish at last weekend's Big Ten Indoor Track and Field Championships, senior Shana Cox (Westbury, N.Y.), and freshman Shavon GReaves (Lakewood, N.J.) both earned conference recognition on Wednesday, as Cox was named Track Athlete of the Championship, and Greaves garnered Freshman of the Year honors. The honor is the first indoor Big Ten award for Cox, and the second overall, while Greaves earns her first conference trophy.
Cox was a triple-gold medalist at the conference meet, taking individual crowns in the 200- and 400-meters, and anchoring the 4x400-meter relay to its third-straight victory at the indoor championships. Cox was also named Athlete of the Championships following her four-win performance at the 2006 Outdoor Championships. Now a 12-time Big Ten Champion, Cox is unquestionably one of the favorites for this year's NCAA 400 crown, as she is currently ranked fourth in the NCAA after leading the nation for much of the indoor season. The last Nittany Lion to win Athlete of the Championship honors indoors was former Penn State standout and 2004 Olympian Consuella Moore.
Greaves recorded two impressive finishes, taking bronze medal honors in the 60-meter dash, and finishing seventh in the 200-meters. Greaves clocked a career-best 7.46 in the 60 at the Big Ten meet, missing NCAA provisional status by just two-hundredths of a second. Greaves is the first Penn State athlete to take indoor Freshman of the Year accolades since Donna Fidler in 1996. Current sophomore Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) was declared the top rookie at the 2007 Outdoor Championships.
A crew of Nittany Lions earned spots on the All-Conference team, with Cox and relay-mates Dominique Blake (Bronx, N.Y.), Briene Simmons (Decatur, Ga.), and Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.) making the first team on the women's side, while Clarence Smith (Coatesville, Pa.), and Mark Miller (Shillington, Pa.) gained first-team slots thanks to Big Ten victories in the triple jump, and 800-meters, respectively. Nabbing second-team nods were Emma Schmelzer (Bloomington, Ill.), Ryan Fritz (Parkesburg, Pa.), Ron Jules (Tom's River, N.J.), and Chris Morrisey (Ligonier, Pa.).