State College, Pa., May 19, 2004 - Penn State heavyweight wrestler Josh Walker (Lancaster, Pa.) has been selected by an NCAA committee to represent Penn State at the 2004 NCAA Leadership Conference held May 30-June 3 in Lake Buena Vista, Florida.

Walker, recently elected the vice-president of Penn State's Student Athlete Advisory Board, was one of 324 student-athletes selected to attend the conference from among 1,175 applications from 295 Division I, II and III institutions.? The Leadership Conference is an annual event in which student-athletes from around the nation gather to discuss key issues in intercollegiate athletics and to enhance their leadership skills. The eight-annual conference will be held at Disney's Wide World of Sports Complex and Coronado Springs Resort.

Walker will be a senior next fall and the leading candidate to fill the heavyweight position in the Penn State dual meet line-up vacated by the graduation of two-time All-American Pat Cummins. He has posted a 66-21 career-record and 3-4 dual meet mark thus far on his career, including an impressive 25-7 mark last season.

Tennis player Clint Keithley represented Penn State at the conference last year.

The topics covered at the conference will range from the demands placed upon student-athletes to behavior and sportsmanship issues. Coaches, administrators and program facilitators, along with a panel of NCAA Student Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC) members, will join the discussion sessions and group activities. The attendees will be asked to pass on their experiences to the SAAC and campus leaders at their own institutions.

Attendees were selected based on their ability and strong desire to evolve as leaders, as well as the student-athlete's potential to benefit from a leadership development experience. To be eligible for selection, a nominee must have been in strong academic standing and have at least one year of athletic eligibility remaining. The selection committee consisted of NCAA CHAMPS/Life skills coordinators from member institutions and NCAA student-athletes.