FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Oct. 8, 2008

Contact: K.E. Schwab  

724.738.2199

 karl.schwab@sru.edu

Jennifer Hansen earns regional scholar-athlete of year honor

SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. – Rock All-America track and field pole vault specialist Jennifer Hansen, an elementary education major from Charleston, W. Va., was named last week as the NCAA Division II Conference Commissioners' Association's Atlantic Region Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

            The honor comes on the heels of Hansen's selection as an ESPN The Magazine/College Sports Information Directors of America first-team Academic All-America performer and the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference' Female Scholar-Athlete of the Year.

Hansen beat out candidates from the West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and Central Intercollegiate Athletic Association for the regional honor.

            Hansen owns a perfect 4.0 grade-point average.

In addition to her Academic All-America and PSAC Scholar-Athlete of the Year honors, she has been a recipient of two ESPN The Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-District honors, three U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association All-Academic citations and three PSAC Top Ten Awards.

In athletic competition, Hansen has earned four USTFCCCA All-America honors, highlighted by a national runner-up finish in 2007, and was named as the 2008 USTFCCCA indoor East Region Field Athlete of the Year and PSAC indoor Field MVP. She also earned the Field MVP honor at both the 2007 and 2008 PSAC indoor championships, is the two-time defending PSAC champion in both indoor and outdoor competitions and the owner of PSAC all-time and Championship records in both indoor and outdoor competitions.

Slippery Rock University is Pennsylvania’s premier public residential university. Slippery Rock University provides students with a comprehensive learning experience that intentionally combines academic instruction with enhanced educational and learning opportunities that make a positive difference in their lives.