Gators Dominate Weekly Honors, Again

Apr 17, 2007

MEADVILLE, Pa. – Another week, another pair of North Coast Athletic Conference Athletes of the Week for the Allegheny College women’s outdoor track and field team. For the second consecutive week the Gators took two of the three track weekly honors as freshman Mia Symoniak (Snyder, N.Y./Amherst Central) and senior Katie Pankowski (Pittsburgh, Pa./Woodland Hills) were selected by league officials following their respective performances this past weekend.

Symoniak picked up the conference’s weekly honor for the middle distance and distance events after competing at the Bucknell Bison Outdoor Classic on April 13. The Gator first year competed in the 10,000 meters for the first time in her young career and she made the most of it, finishing 12th overall in a field composed of runners from all divisions of the NCAA as well as independents. She completed the race in 38:14.61, marking the fifth-fastest time among her Division III brethren at the meet.

Symoniak has already qualified in three events for the upcoming NCAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships on May 3-4. She owns the seventh-fastest time in the 1,500 meters this season at 5:01.10, while her marks in the 5,000- and 10,000-meter races put her in third (18:30.03) and second (38:14.61), respectively.

The conference labeled Pankowski as the field honoree following the senior’s achievements at the Slippery Rock Invitational on April 14. She finished third in the javelin at the event, hurling the implement 122 feet, four inches. Noteworthy, she was the only NCAA Division III competitor in the top nine.

Pankowski is the NCAC’s leader in the javelin this spring after posting a distance of 125 feet, three inches at the Carnegie Mellon Tri-Meet on April 5, just over three feet short of the NCAA provisional mark. She has also qualified for the NCAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships in the long jump, clearing the 15 feet, seven inches needed by half an inch at Carnegie Mellon.

Allegheny continues it season this Saturday, April 21, at the Indiana (Pa.) University Invitational.

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