ROSEMONT, Ill. – Senior track & field captains Danae Rivers and Maddie Holmberg have both earned Athlete of the Week honors announced by the Big Ten on Wednesday. Rivers earns her sixth Track Athlete of the Week honor of her storied Penn State career. Holmberg earns her first Field Athlete of the Week honor.
Holmberg, a native of Greensburg, Pa., improved on her already NCAA-leading score in the pentathlon event last weekend at the Dr. Sander Invitational at the Armory. Holmberg won the event with a total of 4,171 points, winning three of the five events. Holmberg is no stranger to the national stage in the pentathlon, earning first-team All-America honors with a seventh-place finish in 2018 and a ninth-place finish in 2019. Her personal-best mark in the event is 4,227 points, which ranks second all-time in Penn State history.
Rivers adds to her already impressive resume with her sixth Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week honor of her career. Rivers opened her season at the Armory in the 800m event, racing against five professionals in the women's 800m invitational. Rivers ran the third-fastest time in the NCAA, clocking 2:05.20 in her first race of 2020. Her time ranks first in the Big Ten and is over three seconds faster than all conference other student-athletes who have competed in the 800m. Rivers is the reigning 800m indoor national champion and the three-time defending 800m indoor Big Ten champion.
Click here for the Big Ten release.
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