Jan. 6, 2010
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa.: January 6, 2010 - Led by multiple-time All-America finishers Bridget Franek (Hiram, Ohio), Fawn Dorr (Akron, N.Y.), and Shavon GReaves (Lakewood, N.J.) the Nittany Lion women's track and field team looks to make a splash on the national stage again in 2010, opening the indoor campaign at No. 10 in the United States Track and Field/Cross Country Association (USTFCCCA) rankings. The Nittany Lions finished tallied a program-best seventh-place finish at the NCAA Indoor Championships in 2009, with the help of pentathlon runner-up Gayle Hunter, and Aleesha Barber - the fourth-place finisher in the 60-meter hurdles - who have both exhausted their indoor eligibility.
Franek, who was recently led the Lions to the program's first Big Ten title in cross country, is among the NCAA elite in three events, including the mile run, and the 3,000- and 5,000-meters. Franek's 5K PR of 15:58.76 is the top mark among NCAA returners, while her 3K performance from 2009 (9:10.04) is ranked fourth, and her mile (4:38.63) is the seventh-best mark among NCAA competitors. Franek placed fourth in the 5,000 at NCAA Indoor last year, and also competed in the 3,000.
Greaves owns the ninth-best performance nationally in the 200-meters (23.59), after capturing All-America honors with an 10th-place finish in the event in 2009. The junior, who earned a pair of individual gold medals at the 2009 Big Ten Indoor Championships, is also ranked in the national top 20 in the 60-meters with a personal best of 7.40. Greaves, along with Dorr, were both key members of the Lions' third-place 4x400-meter relay at the NCAA Indoor Championships in 2009.
Dorr - a senior - made the NCAA meet individually in the 400-meters as a junior, thanks to a personal-best 53.62 - the 10th-fastest performance among 2010 returners. Dorr also captured Big Ten gold in 2009, winning the quarter mile for her first individual Big Ten title.
The Nittany Lions are also joined by 2009 NCAA provisional qualifiers Cheryl Spring (The Woodlands, Texas) and Bianca Fung (North Babylon, N.Y.). Spring clocked a personal-best 16:39.53 in the 5,000 last winter, while Fung posted a leap of 20-3.50 (6.18) in the long jump - a top 20 performance among returners.
Defending NCAA Champion Texas A&M is ranked No. 1, entering the 2010 season, while Oregon and Louisiana State round out the top three. The Lions are tops among Big Ten squads with Illinois rated 19th.
The Nittany Lions open the 2010 campaign this weekend at the Penn State Indoor Relays, scheduled for Saturday, January 9, at Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track.