April 29, 2008
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.: April 29, 2008 - Senior Shana Cox (Westbury, N.Y.) has been named Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week after anchoring the Nittany Lion 4x400-meter relay to victory at the prestigious Penn Relays last weekend. Cox, and teammates Dominique Blake (Bronx, N.Y.), Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.), and Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.) posted a sizzling Penn State record 3.31.44 to best relay powers LSU, Texas A&M, and South Carolina. This marks the second time this season that Cox has garnered conference honors.
Coming into the final with the second-fastest preliminary time, the Nittany Lions rose to the occasion in the Championship of America section of the mile relay, winning the program's first Penn Relays title since the NCAA began recognizing women's athletics in the early 1980s. After Hunter held off a hard charge from LSU's Latavia Thomas on the third leg, Cox solidified the win on the anchor, splitting a blistering 51.7 - the fastest readout of the day - to better the Tigers by nearly two full seconds.
Cox, who currently ranked first in the Big Ten, and fourth nationally in the 400-meters, capped the school-record performance, bettering the previous Penn State best 3:31.75, which she, Blake, Briene Simmons (Decatur, Ga.), and Hunter set at the NCAA East Regional Championships in 2007.
Cox and Lions continue their charge towards a Big Ten title run this weekend, competing at the Jesse Owens Classic at Ohio State. Action begins on Friday, May 2.