Track & Field’s Pardon Ndhlovu Named UNCP Student-Athlete Of The Week

PEMBROKE – After out-pacing 34 other athletes taking top honors in the 10,000m run at the prestigious Penn Relays on Thursday evening, junior distance runner Pardon Ndhlovu has been named this week's UNCP Student-Athlete of the Week, athletic department officials announced Tuesday.

Ndhlovu, a native of Zimbabwe, recorded a personal-best mark of 29:31.58 in besting the remainder of the field by more than a second en route to becoming the first UNCP athlete in school history to capture a title at the prestigious event. The remainder of the field of 35 distance runners included 25 NCAA Division I student-athletes, including a trio of in-state NCAA Division I runners.

The Penn Relays is the first and oldest relay meet with average attendance nearing 50,000 in the last eight years, making the meet the best-attended track event in the United States each year and one of the best attended in the world. Through 117 editions of the meet, more athletes have run at the Penn Relays than at any other single meet in the world. More spectators have watched the meet than any in the world except the Olympics and World Championships.

Ndhlovu, who has already posted NCAA Championship provisional qualifying times in both the 8,000m and 10,000m runs, has booked nine top-five finishes this season, including event five first-place marks. He won the 800m run at both the UNCW Seahawk Invitational and the NCAA Division II Southeast Regional Championships, the 1500m run at the NCAA Southeast Regional Championships and the 5000m run at the UNCW Seahawk Invitational in addition to Thursday's top finish.