16 I WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28. 2010 Senior Franek eyes national championship Penn State senior Bridget Franek will be at Stanford this wee4enct to compete at. the Pavt:n !organ Cardinal lnvitationa. Brothers' mental toughness, dedication lead Lions By Emily Kaplam LLE,.I,iA% When Man Mars was in, tits grade. he gave an early glitnp.-:: into his personality - by but toughint2: a couple of •ecotif_l ;.2rader , The 7 ear old hoo- from school ‘t, ilt:3 h' 'o of nei;2,lll3oril ,, ocs res;deo• to pp_l,-. ev(A, belt thorn his brother.Fv k . sail s‘.ith "He Totally held hi:. 2rot:nd That • just la•v, a'.< it t Ntliu ti 2et not hin<4 can get him clovo Fifteen years later. Mar , is redshirt junior and a leader on 111:. Penn State mens volleyball tuna wh - ) sets the gold standard 1;1- mental toughness, hard work ar , i dedication. "\ ()thing not a po , r, change, not a seemingly ,eason ending, not even a pail of • By Zack Feldman • . WRITER Bridget Franck. a senior in her final seLL , en nt eligibility isn't rac ing with most of her team this weekend ni t}l -'Sc'. about to takc the ~ .vceislt- m cl ;At Rather. Franck 'f the Vttany Lions all- tqlce runners is ,ch, , ,iHco,travel to Stanford Ly , ,IT of Penn State at the May 1 Cardinal 1 - 1" i i it, Pc I( 1 InviTational \k"hile ot her teammates ;r.co.:; 0111() state. Franek a liTain. Ohm) nanve will ,: - ti.ty's 5.000- :r_: ~_~~ w; , .1:13 , 4 , 11 .; Franek oppor- . • , _•il a goal no ta -.chool his- 1,:1:; , 11 tr)r a national -',oeplechase fl .(01-411 -t (i v‘io ttraid of hard 1 , Kyle Mars hitters like Lipsitz • ' Idnd It'P the coaching t‘ n,:tkt_ a scvitch to middle hit- Pavlik called ` , ;:licr 2,e some guys handle - •nons asked. practice early n reps with and solicited an All kuit uJR futi-r. IMIEENDIE disciplined and and all the glory I can bring to Penn State," Franek said. Franek was the closest a Nittany Lion runner has come to securing the NCAA championship in the 3.000-meter steeplechase. She finished third in 2008 and fourth in 2009, earning All- America honors in each just two of nine total All-America hon ors in her career. But coach Beth Alford- Sullivan's reason for having Franek travel separately from the majority of the team is simple: bet ter competition. "It's a great competition for dis tance racing. And sometimes it takes a season to cycle through before you hit a big meet," Alford- Sullivan said. "The competition is there, so we're going there." Though Franek and Alford- Sullivan consider the steeple chase Franek's signature event, Franek hasn't run the event since the August 2009 International Association of Athletics Federation World Championships. OMEN'S c-i,CK AND FIELD Alford-Sullivan said she's not concerned with Franek readjust ing to her race. instead remaining can keep extreme especially because of what he was doing on top of it. While Mars was putting in more than 20 hours a week of volleyball practice. he was also conducting his own personal workouts 'Alit, • 4 11 0 '. , Since Septem bet Mars has been preparing for an officer Alan Mars training stint with the U.S. Marines. Every other day, he would wake up at 6 a.m. to build endurance. By April, he brought his three mile time down to under 19 min utes. Mars said the work was satisfy ing, but it required some sacri fices. "There were some nights I had to call it in earlier than I would like." he said. "I was tired all the time." But the hard work and quiet dedication paid off. On April 10, in a match against then-No. 4 Cal State-Northridge, confident training against strong competition and leading the NCAA field in experience gives Franek the edge running her event in the Big Ten champi onships and beyond. "I think Bridget's very techni cally sound in the steeplechase." Alford-Sullivan said. 'She's been training well, and she will have a bunch of [steeplechases] in a row coming up. The steeplechase is one of those events; you can't overdo it. This season. we're start ing a little late, but I think she'll be just fine." Franek is already a six-time school record holder, including the top steeplechase mark of 9 min utes. 36.74 seconds 31 seconds ahead of Molly Landreth's second place outing in 2004. A repeat of Franek's personal best mark would put her atop the current NCAA leaderboard. Alford-Sullivan said a national championship is "hugely likely." with Franek's first chance to showcase her steeplechase skills at the Penn State Open on May Bth. Mars earned his first-career start at his new position. "It's rewarding for a coach to see a guy like Alan work hard at something and see results like that," Pavlik said. "But it is also important to the team. I think all the guys respect Alan." But what nobody knew -- and what made his transformation even more impressive was the fact Mars did it all a leg behind the competition. For a good portion of the 2010 season, Mars was playing hurt. The 6-foot-7 Rochester N.Y. native had a nagging foot injury some thing he would later describe as frustrating and annoying. But he played anyway, and he played well. Yet on April 12, Mars finally had his foot checked out by a team doctor. He was diagnosed with a stress fracture in the sec ond metatarsal of his right foot and was forced to sit out two weeks. "To think he was playing on a stress fracture for this many weeks is a testament to his tough ness," assistant coach Colin team well + live well lionscrossing.com Not limiting herself to one goal ni ttanycrossingpa.com collegeparkpa.com THE DULY COLLEGIAN Franek said she does not plan to stop at this season's NCAAs. "1 h he running well into the '. July probably" Franck - T hope to go to the NACAC [Under-23] Championships, and that will probably be my last race." Franek's said while her future isn't certain. she knows running will be a part of it. Franek declined comment on whether she intended to turn pro fessional at the conclusion of this season but elaborated on one other goal the 2012 Olympic Games in London, which Alford- Sullivan said is well within Franek's reach. "I think being on that Olympic team in 2012 is very real for her. She is one of the top three or four 'steeplers' in the U.S., - Alford- Sullivan said. She can't afford to take any steps back. "She's got to continue the pro gression she's been maldng and she'll be in a great position to make that team.- reporter. zefsoos@psu.edu Check Above the Net to read about Cohn McMillan joining the Junior National Team's coaching staff: psucollegian.com McMillan said. "That's just Alan On Monday, Mars had his foot re-examined. X-rays showed he wasn't fully healed, but better enough to play in the Lions' EIVA tournament semifinal game this Thursday Still. Mars has to deal with the repercussions of the injury Pavlik said for now, while he is still heal - Mg. Mars will see limited time in Penn State's first postseason game. Mars is unsure if he can attend a summer training pro gram with the Marines as he had planned. But if Mars' track record proves anything, Kyle said, it's that he will prevail. "When Alan got hurt the first thing he said to me was, 'Don't worry I'll be back.' " Kyle said. And I know he will be." To e-mail reporter: exkso49@psu.edu
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