A 23 year old female runner spends 25 hours a week in the gym preparing for an upcoming competition. As she slowly descends into a squat, the muscle fibers of the quads are stretched while those of the hamstrings - especially the semitendinosus - are being activated to help stabilize the knee joint. Because the hamstrings are highly activated during the eccentric (lowering) phase of the squat, the deeper she goes the more hamstring muscle fibers she will recruit. During contraction of the hamstring, the _____________, located at the junction between muscle and tendon, is activated.
A. Gamma motor neuron
B. Alpha motor neuron
C. Golgi tendon organ
D. Muscle spindle
E. Merkel endings