Gmiter Garners National Attention with ECAC Outdoor Athlete of the Week Award
Loretto, Pa. – Saint Francis’ senior throwing extraordinaire, Diane Gmiter (Pittsburgh, Pa./Laurel Highlands), was granted the honor of being named the Eastern College Athletic Conference’s Division I Women’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week for the week ending April 6.
Gmiter’s determined first place performance at the William & Mary Colonial Relays on April 4-5, with a heave of 14.75m (48’4.75”) in the shot put, was also strong enough to meet the NCAA-qualifying mark.
The Pittsburgh native not only made herself available to the elusive NCAA Championships, but Gmiter also became eligible for the ECAC/IC4A Outdoor Championships at Princeton University on May 9-11. Gmiter finalized a spot in the season-ending gala after meeting the ECAC requirement with a fourth place pitch of 49.05m (160’11) in the hammer throw event.
Although the ECAC Field Athlete of the Week garnered national notoriety this past week, Gmiter’s successes started in SFU’s first meet of the outdoor season at the Western Pennsylvania Championship on Saturday, March 29. Gmiter directed the women’s side for the Red Flash to bring home gold after she claimed the top spot in shot put once again (14.07m). The hammer throw even also fell victim to Gmiter’s aptitude as another first place prize was captured in her hometown with a 49.69m hurl, arriving at her second top finish of the day.
The senior sultan of throwing and the rest of the Saint Francis outdoor track and field team voyage out to Lewisburg, Pa. for combat in the Bucknell University Open on Friday, April 11 and Saturday, April 12. Following the intrastate trip, the Red Flash break ground at the 1st Annual Father Bede Hines Invite to be held in Loretto, Pa. on Saturday, April 19 at 10:00am. The event will be staged at Immergrun Golf Course; Saint Francis’ home nine-hole track.