March 13, 2009
COLLEGE STATION, Texas: March 13, 2009 - In fourth place going into the final event of the women's pentathlon, senior Gayle Hunter (Riverside, Calif.) clocked a near four second personal best in the 800-meters to vault up the standings and finish second at the NCAA Indoor Championships, Friday at Gilliam Indoor Track, on the campus of Texas A&M University. Hunter's sensational afternoon included lifetime bests in three of the five events, which led to a school-record total of 4342 and her sixth-career NCAA All-America certificate. Junior Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio) would add another All-America finish to the Nittany Lion record book, finishing fourth in the 5,000-meters.
Elsewhere in finals action, the men's distance medley of Tim Johnson (New Cumberland, Pa.), Mike Cadau (Mahanoy City, Pa.), Ryan Foster (Tasmania, Australia), and Samuel Borchers (Yellow Springs, Ohio) finished ninth overall in 9:37.62 - just over a tenth of a second out of All-America status.
The Nittany Lion women are also fairing well in the team standings, finishing day one tied for second with 13 points. BYU leads the women's team race (18 pts) with six of 17 events scored.
Senior Aleesha Barber (Decatur, Ga.) also had a outstanding day one, advancing to the 60-meter hurdle final with a prelim time of 8.17 - just one hundredth of a second off her school record of 8.16. Barber's mark was the fourth-fastest in qualifying.
"It was a phenomenal day for Penn State Track and Field," said Director of Track and Field Beth Alford-Sullivan following the day's competition. "13 points on the board puts the women in a great spot going into the second day. We look forward to Aleesha's final, Bridget's 3K, and the 4x400 to see if we can be in trophy contention."
Hunter started off the day running 8.50 seconds - good for 1017 points - and followed up with a season-best clearance of 5-4.25 (1.63) in the high jump. The seasoned veteran then got into a PR groove and began a sensational climb through the standings, posting a career-best toss of 40-0.50 (12.20) on her first attempt in the shot put. Hunter's PR effort - worth 674 points - took her from 10th to eighth in the standings, going into her signature event - the long jump.
Hunter soared to a leap of 20-11.25 (6.38) on her first attempt in the long jump, continuing to scale the standings while setting a new Penn State record in the process. Hunter's record jump was worth 969 points, putting her at 3431 points and taking her from eighth to fourth going into the last event.
Starting the event 30 points out of third place, and 61 points out of second, Hunter would need to better Oregon's Brianne Theisen by more than two seconds, and finish over five seconds in front of Michigan's Bettie Wade to capture silver-medal honors. The senior stormed to the lead on the first lap of the 800 Hunter before settling in behind Clemson's Liane Weber for much of the race. On the final turn, Hunter mounted an impressive finishing kick to finish first in the event. Hunter's finishing time of 2:13.73 - which added another 911 points to her total - was a lifetime best by nearly four seconds.
"The pentathlon was one of the most competitive fields in recent history and Gayle was a competitor all the way through," said Sullivan. "Its great to see her finish with national runner up honors."
The senior's record total of 4342 bettered her own school record of 4236 set earlier this season. Hunter's long jump broke the previous Penn State standard of 20-8 (6.30) set by Shakeema Walker in 1999, and tied by Chi-Chi Aduba in 2003.
With Andrea Walkonen of Boston University and eventual champion Sally Kipyego of Texas Tech pushing the pass early, Franek coolly found a position near the front of the chase pack, rolling through the first 1600 meters in 5:12. Franek would charge to the front of the pack just before the 3,000-meter mark and hold her ground throughout a furious last three laps, finishing in 15:59.55 - the second time she's dipped under the 16-minute barrier this season.
"Bridget continues to show distance dominance with another All-America finish," continued Sullivan. "We look forward to seeing what she can do in the 3,000 (meters) tomorrow."
Johnson kept the Lions in solid position through the 1200-meter opener amongst an outstanding field, clocking 2:57.41 before turning the stick over to Cadau, who split 47.69. Foster turned in a 1:49.91 readout on the 800 leg, sprinting down the finish stretch to put the Lions in fourth going into the final leg. Borchers covered the 1600-meter leg in 4:02.62, anchoring the Lions to a fourth-place finish in their heat.
"I couldn't be more proud of our men's distance medley," said Sullivan. "We came in ranked 17th, and the guys gave it a tremendous effort. While its heart breaking to be ninth, it was inspiring to be represented but such a fine group of young men."
Also turning in a solid performance was sophomore Shavon GReaves (Lakewood, N.J.) in the 200-meters. Greaves - in her first appearance at the NCAA Championships - sped to a personal-best 23.59 to finish 10th overall - just short of a spot in the final.
Action in College Station continues Saturday. Senior Ryan Fritz (Parkesburg, Pa.) is the first Lion scheduled to compete with the men's high jump slated to begin at 4:15 p.m. CDT.