Penn State Sports Magazine
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1439730
1 4 J A N U A R Y 2 0 2 2 W W W . B L U E W H I T E O N L I N E . C O M Penn State Olympian C.J. Hunter Dies C.J. Hunter, one of the most successful throwers in Penn State track and field his- tory, died Nov. 28. No cause of death was announced. He was 52 years old. A 1990 Penn State graduate, Hunter was a five-time All-American during his tenure with the Nittany Lions. At the 1990 NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, he became the second indoor gold medalist in PSU history when he won the shot put. Hunter remains the only Nittany Lion to ever claim a national championship in that event, and his school records in both the indoor (65 feet, 7 inches) and outdoor (65-5) shot put stood for more than two decades. Hunter was a three-time medalist at the NCAA Championships and claimed eight IC4A crowns during his time in Happy Valley. After college, he achieved success on the international circuit, finishing seventh in the shot put at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics and winning gold in 1999 at the World Champion- ships in Seville, Spain. But his career was later derailed by a se- ries of positive tests for the banned steroid nandrolone. Hunter tested positive prior to the 2000 Sydney Olympics. He had already withdrawn from the Games, citing a knee in- jury, by the time the news of his positive tests was made public, and he denied taking any performance-enhancing drugs. Hunter and his then-wife, Olympic sprint champion Marion Jones, later became en- meshed in the BALCO doping scandal, in which the founder of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative admitted to supplying perfor- mance-enhancing drugs to athletes. Jones wrote in her autobiography that the scandal had put a strain on their marriage, and the couple divorced in 2002. Hunter went on to work as a collegiate strength and conditioning coach at Colorado, North Carolina and North Carolina State. — Matt Herb PENN STATE'S TOP PERFORMERS Kerry Abello — Women's Soccer Abello was named Women's Soccer Academic All-Amer- ican of the Year for the second year in a row by the College Sports Information Directors of America. Abello, a senior captain from Batavia, Ill., maintained a 4.0 grade point aver- age with a double undergraduate major in science and Span- ish. She is now in graduate school where she is studying bio- medical engineering. Abello, who has totaled 17 goals and 10 assists in 92 games at Penn State, is a four-time Academic All-American, having earned first-team honors in 2019, '20 and '21, and a second-team nod in 2018, her freshman year with the Nittany Lions. She is the first four-time Academic All-American in the program's history. Seth Lundy — Men's Basketball Known as a streaky player a season ago, Lundy has been a model of consistency for the Nittany Lions as a junior. The 6-foot-6 forward from Philadelphia reached double figures in nine of Penn State's first 10 games and was averag- ing 14.7 points per game to lead the team. As a sophomore, Lundy showed he was capable of big scoring outbursts, like his 32-point night versus VCU and his 31-point outing against Maryland. But he was sometimes a nonfactor, finishing in single digits in 15 of 25 games and ending the year with a 10.1-point scoring average. But the two play- ers who finished ahead of him in scoring last year — Myreon Jones and Izaiah Brockington — departed in the offseason, and Lundy has done his part to fill the void. In addition to his improved scoring, he was second on the team with an average of 6.0 rebounds per game. Makenna Marisa — Women's Basketball Marisa has been a difference-maker for the Lady Lions all season, ranking third in the Big Ten in scoring at 21.1 points per game. The 5-foot-11 junior guard from McMurray, Pa., scored 20 points or more in seven of Penn State's first 12 games, including a 33-point night against Duquesne on Dec. 18. She was also leading the team in assists (58) and steals (20), and was fourth in rebounding average (4.3 per game). Even when nothing else is going right, the Lady Lions have been able to rely on Marisa. She accounted for more than half of the team's scoring in a 70-40 loss at Indiana on Dec. 6, pouring in 21 points on 10-of-22 shooting. Oskar Au o — Men's Ice Hockey The senior goaltender from Espoo, Finland, was named in December as one of 20 candidates for the 2021-22 Senior CLASS Award, which honors a student-athlete who displays leadership qualities while excelling athletically, academically and in community service. One of 10 Big Ten players to be listed as candidates for the award, Autio had compiled a 2.61 goals-against average and .903 save percentage through 12 games. He also maintains a 3.78 grade point average in industrial-organizational psychology, with a minor in business. Autio is the sixth Nittany Lion to be nominated for the award, the most recent being 2021 finalist Alex Limoges. — Matt Herb PHOTO COURTESY PENN STATE ATHLETICS