UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – Penn State track & field's Cheickna Traore and Florence Caron earned Big Ten Track weekly honors following their outstanding performances this past weekend. Caron broke Penn State's longest-standing outdoor track & field record, topping Kathy Mills' 46-year old women's 5K record by three tenths of a second at the Bryan Clay Invite, while Traore finished second overall in an uber-competitive 200-meter race at Florida's Tom Jones Invite.
THE HONOREES
Cheickna Traore – Big Ten Men's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week
Traore continued his dominant outdoor campaign with a second-place finish in the 200-meter dash at the Tom Jones Memorial Invite this past weekend. Facing off against many of the top collegiate sprinters in the country, Traore clocked a 20.25 over 200 meters, a mark just two hundredths of a second off his own school record 20.23 time. The Linden, N.J. native is currently ranked No. 3 in Division I in the 200m and sits comfortably atop the Big Ten charts in the event as well with Purdue's Cameron Miller a full tenth of a second behind at 20.33. A three-time Big Ten indoor Champion, Traore is set to compete for multiple titles yet again as postseason competition is set to commence in less than a month.
The star sprinter earns his fourth Big Ten weekly accolade of the 2023-24 campaign, and his second this outdoor season.
Florence Caron – Big Ten Women's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week
Caron broke Penn State's 46-year-old women's 5K school record this past weekend at the Bryan Clay Invitational, running a 15:32.22. Her mark took down Kathy Mills' time from 1978, the oldest school record that still stood, by three tenths of a second. Caron finds herself ranked No. 8 in Division I in the 5K after her incredible run this past weekend. She also sits atop the Big Ten's 5K rankings, nearly seven seconds faster than the next closest mark. The Big Ten's indoor 5K silver medalist is primed for another title-contending run against conference competition on the outdoor oval as the postseason draws nearer.
The Penn State distance standout earns her first career Big Ten weekly accolade.
Traore and Caron collect Penn State's tenth and 11th conference weekly awards of the 2023-24 track & field campaign, the team's third and fourth honors of the outdoor season. The 12 conference weekly awards is the most Penn State has earned in a year since it earned a school record 15-such honors in 2013.
PENN STATE'S 2023-24 BIG TEN TRACK & FIELD WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS
April 17 – Cheickna Traore – Sprints – Men's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week
April 17 – Florence Caron – Distance – Women's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week
April 4 – Cheickna Traore – Sprints – Men's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week
April 4 – Hayley Kitching – Mid-Distance – Women's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week
March 28 – Yukichi Ishii – Mid-Distance – Men's Outdoor Track Athlete of the Week
Feb. 21 – Kileigh Kane – Mid-Distance – Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
Feb. 14 – Kileigh Kane – Mid-Distance – Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
Feb. 7 – Cheickna Traore – Sprints – Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
Jan. 31 – Olivier Desmeules – Mid-Distance – Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
Jan. 31 – Hayley Kitching – Mid-Distance – Women's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
Jan. 24 – Hayley Kitching – Mid-Distance – Women's Indoor Co-Track Athlete of the Week
Jan. 17 – Cheickna Traore – Sprints – Men's Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
LOOKING AHEAD
Penn State will travel to Charlottesville, Va. this coming weekend to compete in the Virginia Challenge from April 19-20.