Personal Records
Indoor
800m - 2:11.95
1000m - 2:49.92
Mile - 4:38.63 (PSU Record)
3000m - 9:10.04 (PSU Record)
5000m - 15:58.76
DMR - 11:14.78 (PSU Record)
Outdoor
800m: 2:14.07
1500m: 4:21.16
5000m: 15:58.31
3000mSC: 9:36.74 (PSU Record)
4x1500: 17:57.28 (PSU Record)
Franek[apos]s Nittany Lion Resume ...
* 2007 Big Ten Freshman of the Year
* Three-Time Penn State Record Holder
~ 3000mSC - 9:59.21
~ 4x1500m - 17:57.28
~ DMR (Indoor) - 11:14.78
* Three-Time Big Ten Medalist
~ 2007 Outdoor (3000m SC, 5000)
~ 2007 Indoor (DMR)
* 2007 Penn Relays Steeplechase Champion
* Four-Time NCAA Championships Participant
~ 2006 Cross Country
~ 2007 Indoor (Mile - 4:46.11, 11th; DMR - 11:41.98, 13th)
~ 2007 Outdoor (3000m SC - 10:11.68, 12th)
~ 2007 Cross Country
* NCAA Regional Qualifier
~ 2007 3000mSC (3rd, 10:00.57)
~ 2007 1500m (DNR)
~ 2007 5000m (DNR)
* Four-Time Big Ten Athlete of the Week
On the Course ...
|| 2008 Cross Country || Earned All-America honors with a 23rd-place finish at the NCAA Championships ... Captured her third-straight All-Region finish with a third-place showing at the Mid-Atlantic Regional .... Placed ninth at the Big Ten Championships, securing All-Big Ten Second Team status. || 2007 Cross Country || Placed 57th at the NCAA Championships ... Took fourth at the Mid-Atlantic Regional and sixth at the Big Ten Championships ... Won the Spiked Shoe Invitational. || 2006 Cross Country || Qualified for NCAAs as a freshman ... Finished fifth in the region to earn All-Region honors ... Placed 17th at the Big Ten Championships ... Won her first collegiate race at the Lock Haven Invitational.
On the International Scene ...
|| 2009 Outdoor || Qualified for the IAAF World Championships in the steeplechase, thanks to a third-place effort at the USATF Outdoor Championships, where she achieved the international 'A' standard with a school-record and personal-best time of 9:36.74. || 2008 Outdoor || Posted a second-place finish in the steeple while competing for the United States at the NACAC Under-23 Championships.
On the National Stage ...
,b> || 2009 Outdoor || Placed fourth in the steeplechase at the NCAA Championships, clocking 9:48.57 ... Won her second consecutive East Region crown at the NCAA Regional Championships, running a meet and stadium record 9:51.89 ... Was also a regional-qualifier in the 1500- and 5000-meters. || 2009 Indoor || Posted an impressive fourth-place finish in the 5000, clocking 15:59.55 ... Placed 11th in the 3000 with a finishing time of 9:17.60 ... Named Mid-Atlantic Track Athlete of the Year for the indoor season. || 2008 Outdoor || Finished third in the 3,000-meter steeplechase (9:58.74) at the NCAA Championships - the highest-ever finish by a Penn State athlete in an NCAA distance event ... Took top honors in the steeple at the NCAA East Regional Championships in 10:01.56 ... Competed in the US Olympic Trials, posting a 16th place finish among the nation[apos]s best steeplechasers. || 2008 Indoor || Picked up a pair of All-America finishes, taking seventh in the 5,000, and 10th in the 3,000 at the NCAA Indoor Championships. || 2007 Outdoors || Placed 12th in an outstanding steeplechase field at the NCAA Championships (10:11.68) ... ran 10:08.24 in the prelimary round to advance to the final ... Clocked 10:00.57 - her second-fastest time of the season - to finish second at the NCAA East Regional Championships, earning an automatic bid to NCAAs ... Also made the steeplechase final at the USATF Championships. || 2007 Indoor || Just missed the mile final at the NCAA Championships, running 4:46.68 to finish 11th in the preliminaries. || 2006 Cross Country || Finished fifth with a career-best 6K time of 20:44 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional, earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships.
At the Big Ten Championships ...
|| 2009 Outdoor || Recorded a pair of podium finishes, placing second in the steeplechase and third in the 5000-meters with a personal outdoor-best 15:58.31. || 2009 Indoor || Recorded a pair of bronze-medal efforts, clocking a career indoor-best and NCAA automatic-qualifying 15:58.76 in the 5000 ... Ran an NCAA provisional 9:21.93 to take third in the 3000. || 2008 Outdoor || Won her first career Big Ten title with a school-record 9:58.56 in the steeplechase ... also finished seventh in the 5,000. || 2008 Indoor || Posted fourth-place efforts in the 3,000 (9:18.59) and 5,000 (16:09.39), clocking PRs in both events. || 2007 Outdoor || Had a sensational weekend, finishing third in both the steeplechase (10:05.96) and 5000-meters (16:26.86) ... was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year for her efforts. || 2007 Indoor || Ran a then-personal record 4:45.73, the best time in the opening round ... finished seventh in the final ... Anchored the DMR (11:32.55) to a bronze-medal finish, splitting 4:47 on the 1600-meter leg ... Clocked 16:43.49 for 5,000-meters, good for fifth place in her first-career attempt at the distance.
Around the Track ...
|| 2009 Outdoor || Ran a then personal-best and school-record 9:43.57 to finish fourth in an elite field at the Payton Jordan Cardinal Invitational at Stanford ... Posted wins in both the 800- and 1500-meters at the Jim Click Shootout, clocking a season-best and regional-qualifying 4:24.28 in the 1500 ... Set a stadium record 9:53.7h in the steeplechase at the Bison Outdoor Classic - the time was the fastest in the world at the time it was run ... Split 2:10.7 on the anchor leg of the third-place sprint medley in the Penn Relays Championship of America section ... Ran the 1600-meter leg on the fourth-place DMR in the championship heat at Penn ... Finished second in the 1500 at the Penn State Open. || 2009 Indoor || Claimed Penn State records in the mile run and 3000-meters over the course of the indoor season ... Won the mile at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup in 4:38.63 setting a new Penn State record ... Placed second in the 3000 in tough competition at the Penn State National, running a school-record and NCAA automatic 9:10.04 ... Took second in the 5000 at the Washington Husky Invitational with a finishing time of 16:03.40. || 2008 Outdoors || Ran a season-best 4:23.03 in the 1500 to finish eighth at the Sun Angel Classic ... Took second in the steeplechase at the Oregon Pepsi Challenge. || 2008 Indoor || Finished first in the 3000 at the Virginia Tech Elite meet and Tyson Invitational ... Won the 1000-meters at the Penn State Open ... Finished second in the mile at the Penn State National with a PR 4:44.34. || 2007 Outdoors || Ran a school-record 9:59.21 to win the steeplechase at the Penn Relays - the second-fastest time ever run at historic Franklin Field ... also competed on the 4x1500-meter relay that ran 17:57.28 - also a Penn State record ... Posted a time of 10:16.40 in her first-ever collegiate steeplechase, setting a new facility record at the Bucknell Team Challenge. || 2007 Indoors || Ran a personal-best 2:50.97 for 1000-meters at the Penn State Open ... Ran the mile leg on Penn State[apos]s school-record setting and provisional-qualifying distance medley relay (11:14.78) ... Hit the NCAA provisional qualifying standard in her first collegiate mile competition, running 4:46.90 at the Penn State National. || 2006 Cross Country || Won her first collegiate race at the Lock Haven Invitational ... Took second at both the Harry Groves Spiked Shoe Invitational, and the Penn State National ... Named Big Ten Runner of the Week on Oct. 10. || High School || Won four state titles at the 2006 Ohio State Championships (4x800, 800, 1600, 3200) ... Finished fifth in the mile at Nike Outdoor Nationals ... Placed 18th at the 2005 Footlocker Cross Country Championships || Personal || Daughter of Tom and Rosalie Franek ... Born November 8, 1987 ... Majoring in Kinesiology.