For Bridget Franek, a matter of seconds made the difference between a trip home for a relaxing summer or continuing on to a world championship.
Franek had little time to spare Sunday as she battled her way to a third-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the USA Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore.
When every second counts, the race to a strong finish can lead to great rewards and Franek's reward is a first-time appearance at the 2009 IAAF World Track and Field Championships in Berlin, Germany.
Of the six Penn State athletes who competed at the championships, only Franek, who finished with a time of 9:36.74, qualified for a spot in the August IAAF Championships.
On Monday, she could hardly contain her excitement.
"It's so amazing. I can't even grasp it and I don't think it's completely sunk in yet but I think it's just so, so amazing," Franek said.
Head Coach and Director of Track and Field, Beth Alford-Sullivan, feels that Franek's achievement was deserved based on her standout performance throughout the weekend.
"She obviously did an incredibly great job. She ran a world level 'A' performance." Alford-Sullivan said. "She was just an outstanding athlete this weekend."
Franek kept an out of sight, out of mind mentality to stay calm throughout the competition, but advancing to the IAAF was always in the back of her mind.
She said she was trying her best just to keep "mentally and physically" on track and not to stress out by "just keeping it fun."
Clinching a chance to compete at Worlds, Alford-Sullivan feels this is a defining moment for both Franek and Penn State Track and Field.
"In a non-Olympic year, it's the highest level competition out there. [The IAAF Championships] is pretty much a premier world class competition for track and field so, this will be a peaking point for her, definitely," Alford-Sullivan said.
With the competition still six weeks away, Franek is more than excited to take a much needed trip home to spend time with family and friends over the Fourth of July weekend.
She is most excited for being able to celebrate at her brother's graduation party this weekend, because she hasn't had much free time to spend at home with her family.
"I think that's going to be key for me to really relax and be able to take the focus off of [IAAF Championships] for a while," she said.
But according to Alford-Sullivan, Franek's time off will be short-lived and her training will be set into motion upon her return to State College in the second week of July.
"She will have a pretty solid routine all the way through so we're going to work a lot on her endurance and distance running as well as her steeplechase specialty work that she has to do," Alford-Sullivan said.
Franek feels the "solid routine" that she has practiced throughout the year, doesn't need tweaking for the upcoming championship.
"I've found success in [the routine] and there's no reason to change anything now. I'll just have to pace myself, realize that the work's been done and just maintain the mindset that I have going on right now," Franek said.
Franek may be the only Nittany Lion to place in the competition, but she will definitely not be making the overseas trip alone.
Alford-Sullivan said she will be there helping Franek work through the competition and Franek hopes one or both of her parents can make the trip.
"It might be difficult for both of them but my mom is definitely going to go," Franek said.
