LOCK HAVEN, Pa. --- The Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference announced this week’s indoor track & field athletes of the week. For the men, Shippensburg’s Eric Kirk and East Stroudsburg’s Donavan Anderson were selected, while for the women, California (Pa.)’s Divonne Franklin and West Chester’s Annika Hummel were picked.
Men’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
Shippensburg
Eric Kirk
Sprints
Junior
Coatesville, Pa. / Coatesville
Eric Kirk was named the 2023 Gulden Invitational Track MVP after recording a victory in the 200 meters with a NCAA provisional qualifier of 22.06 seconds, running the opening leg of the victorious 4x400-meter relay that crossed the finish line in 3:23.11, and placing third in the 60 meters with a time of 6.89 seconds. It's the second straight year that Kirk was named the Gulden Invitational Track MVP and the third straight year that a Raider has won the award. Kirk leads the PSAC in both the 60 and the 200, and SU's 4x4 relay also leads the league -- his 200 and the 4x4 are season bests. SHIP has been going to the Gulden Invitational for more than 20 years and on Saturday, SHIP won the team title for the first time. SU beat Bucknell by five points, 148-143By scoring in all but two events – winning seven (200, mile, 3K, 4x4, 4x8, long jump, weight throw) – and with incredible depth. The Raiders got a total of 22 individual scoring (Top 6) performances, including multiple scorers in eight events.
Men’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Week
East Stroudsburg
Donavan Anderson
Sprints/Jumps
Freshman
Burlington Township, N.J. / Burlington Township
Donavan Anderson continued to impress as the freshman recorded his second NCAA provisional mark of the season, this time in the triple jump. Anderson took first in the event at the Gulden Invitational with the third longest leap in school history at 15.15m (49-8 ½). He owns the PSAC's top marks in both the long and triple jumps.
Women’s Indoor Track Athlete of the Week
California (Pa.)
Divonne Franklin
Sprints
Senior
Philadelphia, Pa. / Archbishop John Carroll
Franklin shattered her own all-time PSAC and school record in the 200-meter dash at the SPIRE Midwest Open on Saturday. She recorded the fastest non-converted NCAA Division II in the event this season with her time ranking third overall on the national performance list. Franklin crossed the finish line in the 200 meters with a time of 23.77 seconds, breaking the all-time records she set at last year’s conference championships by 0.76 seconds. Additionally, the Philadelphia native recorded the fastest time in both the preliminaries and finals of the 60-meter dash at SPIRE by posting a time of 7.42 seconds in both heats.
Women’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Week
West Chester
Annika Hummel
Jumps
Sophomore
Mechanicsburg, Pa. / Mechanicsburg
Annika Hummel set a new program record in the pole vault with a mark of 12 feet to capture first place and improve upon her PSAC mark from earlier in the year to help lead the West Chester women's track and field team on Friday afternoon at the Gotham Cup at Ocean Breeze. Hummel has won the pole vault in each of her three meets so far this season, continuously improving upon her mark from each meet, tying the program record a week ago inside the Armory before breaking the record this week inside Ocean Breeze.
ABOUT THE PSAC
Headquartered in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference is an NCAA Division II Conference comprised of 18 institutions in Pennsylvania and West Virginia. The member institutions are Bloomsburg, California (Pa.), Clarion, East Stroudsburg, Edinboro, Gannon, Indiana (Pa.), Kutztown, Lock Haven, Mansfield, Mercyhurst, Millersville, Pitt-Johnstown, Seton Hill, Shepherd, Shippensburg, Slippery Rock and West Chester