Jan. 27, 2014
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Dani Bunch made it three in a row and four-for-four on being named the women's Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week. Bunch is the first woman in Big Ten history to win the Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week award three weeks in a row.
Bunch re-set the Purdue women's program record in the shot put and just missed her personal best in the weight throw. The senior threw 17.10m (56-01.25) to win the event. The mark is the second best in the nation this year and is the Big Ten leading throw by nearly a foot and a half. In the weight throw, Bunch won with a throw of 22.17m (72-08.75). That mark is her second-best of the season, but still farther than any other thrower in the nation this year.
Bunch's shot put mark ranks 19th in the world for all female shot putters this year. Her weight throw distance is fifth, if her PR is taken off that list. Her PR of 22.35 (73-04.00) also ranks fifth.
Bunch has won the Big Ten Field Athlete of the Week award four times this year, a win after each meet she has competed in. There have only been five weekly awards given out this year. Nina Gutermuth of Indiana won the only other award, which came out on Dec. 16 when the Boilermakers were off. Bunch is the only women's field athlete to win the award three consecutive weeks. Christina Manning of Ohio State is the Big Ten leader in weekly awards as the Buckeye trackster won six awards in 2012, including four in a row. Manning has seven for her career, while Bunch has five.
Bunch and the Purdue throwers return to action this weekend at the Findlay Elite Invitational.