May 1, 2012

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.

 

2011-12 UNCP ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Week Of	Athlete	Sport	Release
April 23	Jon Williams	Track & Field	Click Here
April 16	Madeline DiNunzio	Tennis	Click Here
April 9	Josh Haley	Baseball	Click Here
March 26	Josh Haley	Baseball	Click Here
March 19	Karlee Wilson	Softball	Click Here
March 12	Mike Williams	Wrestling	Click Here
March 5	Natalie Klemann	Softball	Click Here
February 27	Mike Williams	Wrestling	Click Here
February 20	Jazmine Kemp	Basketball	Click Here
February 13	Josh Haley	Baseball	Click Here
February 6	James De La Riva	Wrestling	Click Here
January 30	DeDe Cotten	Basketball	Click Here
January 23	Daniel Ownbey	Wrestling	Click Here
January 16	Marcus Heath	Basketball	Click Here
January 9	Shahmel Brackett	Basketball	Click Here
January 2	Mike Williams	Wrestling	Click Here
December 20	Courtney Bolton	Basketball	Click Here
December 12	Shane Nolan	Wrestling	Click Here
December 5	Kristoff Thomas	Wrestling	Click Here
November 28	George Blakeney	Basketball	Click Here
November 21	Brendon Parker-Risk	Wrestling	Click Here
November 14	George Blakeney	Basketball	Click Here
November 7	Ashlyn Rebok	Volleyball	Click Here
October 31	Jordan Walor	Golf	Click Here
October 24	Pardon Ndhlovu	Cross Country	Click Here
October 17	Sam Miles	Soccer	Click Here
October 10	Luke Charles	Football	Click Here
October 3	Dana Watkins	Golf	Click Here
September 26	Travis Daniels	Football	Click Here
September 19	Jordan Walor	Golf	Click Here
September 12	Travis Daniels	Football	Click Here
September 6	Rebecca Womack	Soccer	Click Here