Oct. 12, 2011
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Nittany Lion softball celebrated its unblemished 8-0 Fall Ball slate with a unique competition: the Iron Lion Triathlon. Senior Danee Collett (Rogersville, Tenn.) won the inaugural events, while junior Cassidy Bell (Bakersfield, Calif.) was second.
The softball team took part in a 300-yard swim, a 5.2-mile bike ride and a 2-mile run to complete the circuit. Collett took gold in a time of 40 minutes, 41 seconds, while Bell clocked in at 42:47.
"The Iron Lion Triathlon was a big challenge, but we had a lot of fun with it," Collett said. "It really shows how competitive we are and how hard we have been working this fall. I am so proud of our whole team, we crushed our goal and everyone finished. We are looking forward to a great offseason of training and getting after it in the Spring!"
"This was one of the most challenging things I've done mentally and physically," Bell remarked. "But knowing that we all competed together was well worth it. I am so proud of everyone, especially for getting through the swimming part. We had a couple teammates that were really nervous about the pool, but they were focused and determined to get through it. We showed real character as a team today/."
Collett and Bell were followed by juniors Shannon Hutchinson (Sewell, N.J.), Alyssa Renwick (Laurens, S.C.) and Kailyn Johnson (Yorba Linda, Calif.) to round out the top five. Liz Presto (Bethlehem, Pa.) and Ellen McNair (Niceville, Fla.) came in sixth and seventh, respectively.
The Nittany Lions are coming off an NCAA Regional appearance in 2011, which was hosted in University Park. Penn State reached the regional final, but fell to 13th-seeded Oregon in a heartbreaker. The Nittany Lions return seven starters and 15 letterwinners from last season, while adding five freshman newcomers under the direction of 16th-year head coach Robin Petrini.
--NITTANY LIONS--