To cap her distinguished Penn State career, senior Bridget Franek destroyed her competition Saturday to earn her first individual national championship.

Franek’s record run of 9 minutes, 38.86 seconds, her fastest mark in the steeplechase during the 2010 season, was a full 13 seconds ahead of the second-place competitor Emma Coburn of Colorado.

Franek, the Penn State all-time record holder in the steeplechase and now 10-time All-American runner, earned 10 points toward Penn State’s total of 34, which earned the women’s track and field team fourth overall at the NCAA Championships.

Also highlighting the weekend for the Nittany Lions was sprinter Aleesha Barber, finishing her Penn State career with a third-place finish in the 100-hurdles with a time 0f 12.91 seconds, 0.01 seconds off her previous school record, to become the team’s second 10-time All-American.

Additional All-American finishes from the weekend came from seniors Fawn Dorr and Ryan Fritz, each turning in a fourth-place finish.

Dorr’s time of 56.75 in the 400-hurdles netted her the highest finish in the event in school history.

Fritz’s clearance of 7 feet, 2.5 inches tied his career-best, earning his fourth-career All-American finish.

Penn State’s fourth-place finish at the championships and current fifth-place ranking in the United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association national rankings are both the highest rankings the women’s team has seen between all three seasons.