Feb. 9, 2009
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.: February 9, 2009 - Thanks to event wins and NCAA provisional performances at last weekend's Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup, seniors Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.) and Clarence Smith (Coatesville, Pa.) have been named Big Ten Field Athletes of the Week. The Nittany Lions have put the conference on notice in 2009, as Penn State athletes have received Big Ten honors on seven occasions already this season, including two wins apiece for Hunter and Smith.
Hunter - who scored an NCAA automatic-qualifying 4236 in the pentathlon on January 30 - continued to impress against top competition last weekend, winning the long jump with an NCAA provisional bettering leap of 20-1 (6.12 m.). The senior would also post a second-place finish in the 60-meter hurdles, clocking 8.45, and also anchor the winning 4x400-meter relay, which sprinted to an NCAA-best and current world-leading 3:36.10. Hunter is currently the national leader in the pentathlon, and is also ranked nationally in the long jump and 60 hurdles.
Smith - the 2008 Big Ten triple jump champion - recorded his fourth-straight victory in the triple jump, posting a provisional leap of 52-2 (15.90) - just under three inches off his season best. Smith is currently ranked among the NCAA top ten in the event, and is the Big Ten favorite by nearly three feet.
The Lions will split their squads this weekend, with portions of the team set to make appearances at the Tyson Invitational at Arkansas, and the Washington Husky Invitational at the University of Washington.