Banaszek Finishes Ninth at 2006 NCAA Track &
Field Championships
Behrend
Lions senior Staci Banaszek (Erie/Harborcreek) cleared 5' 5.75" and
took ninth place in the high jump at the 2006 Division III NCAA
Championships held at Benedictine University in Lisle, Illinois on
Friday, May 26. Her ninth place finish is the highest ever
finish for a Penn State Behrend athlete at the NCAA Track & Field
Championships.
Banaszek finished just off her outdoor school record of 5' 6" which
she set earlier in the season. The women's high jump event was
won by Christyn Schumann from Trinity
University who used a 5' 9.75" jump, the best jump in the nation in
2006, to capture first place. Only five athletes jumped beyond
5' 5.75" but Banaszek missed out on a tie for sixth place due to
championship tiebreakers based on number of missed jumps.
Banaszek caps a spectacular career at Behrend with her performance
at the NCAA Championships. She is the school record holder in
the high, long, and triple jump events for both the indoor and
outdoor seasons. For the 2005-2006 school year, she was named
the Behrend Female Athlete of the Year as well as the Behrend
Scholar Athlete of the Year. Banaszek also served as a Student
Athlete Advisory Committee representative and was a member of the
Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference (AMCC) All-Academic Team.
On Saturday, May 27, Behrend Lions junior Dan Mitchell
(Bloomsburg/Bloomsburg) will compete in the javelin throw.
Mitchell previously competed in the NCAA Championships in 2004, when
he finished in 15th place. He qualified for the 2006
Championships with a mark of 193' 6" at the Mount Union
Invitational on April 8.
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