PSU's Cox recognized as Player of the Week

Junior Shana Cox has been named Big Ten Track Athlete of the Week, announced by the conference office yesterday. Cox racked up numerous NCAA qualifying marks at last weekend's Penn State National Invitational and posted the top 400-meter time in the nation this season.

The award is Cox's first conference recognition since being named Athlete of the Championship at last spring's Big Ten Outdoor Championships.

Cox punched her ticket to the NCAA Championships last Saturday, clocking a time of 52.31 seconds for the open quarter, breaking her own Penn State record (52.62), and claiming the Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track facility record. The previous record was 52.48, set by Monica Hargrove in 2006.

Cox's automatic-qualifying mark is the best in the NCAA by over half a second, ahead of South Carolina's Natasha Hastings (52.81), and Georgia Tech's Ashlee Kidd (53.22). At the time it was run, Cox's time was also the third fastest in the world.