DENVER ? Idaho’s Paul Dittmer and Russ Winger have been named the Western Athletic Conference Men’s Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week for the week of Jan. 28 ? Feb. 3. This is the first career WAC Indoor Athlete of the Week honor for Dittmer, and is the second honor for Winger this season and the fifth of his career, winning twice this season, once as a junior and two times his sophomore season. This is the first season that honors for both “Track” and “Field” athletes will be awarded each week.
Dittmer, a freshman from Hanstedt, Germany, (Gymnasium Winsen), ran his best race of the season at the McDonald’s Collegiate on Feb. 2, taking first-place and running a WAC-leading 8.09 in the 60-meter high hurdles to win the event by a comfortable half-second margin. Dittmer has now run the three best times in the WAC in the 60-meter high hurdles over the past three competitions.
Winger, a senior from Colorado Springs, Colo., (Pine Creek), threw a career best and NCAA provisional 67’ 3.5” in the 35-pound weight throw to finish third at the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational in Lincoln, Neb., moving into sixth in the nation in the event. He also went head-to-head with the nation’s No. 2 thrower, Arizona’s Zack Lloyd, and beat him by more than three feet, extending his national lead in the shot put with an NCAA automatic mark of 65’ 1.5” and defended his title at the meet. Winger is now ranked 14th in the world in the shot put and 17th in the world in the weight throw, and is the only person in the world ranked in the top 20 in both events.
Other Track nominees included: Nick Cunningham of Boise State posted a career-best time in the 200-meter dash (21.71) to finish in first-place at the United Heritage Invitational ... Michael Coleman of Louisiana Tech turned in a third-place finish in the 200-meter dash (21.62) at the Indiana Relays, which ranks as the fastest time in the WAC this season ... Silas Pimental of Utah State captured third-place in the 60-meter dash at the Air Force Invitational, clocking a personal-best 6.78, good for first in the WAC and is also the third-fastest time in Aggie history.
Other Field nominees included: Savvas Diakonikolas of Boise State captured the long jump title at the United Heritage Invitational with a NCAA provisional mark of 25’ 8” (7.82m), placing him fourth in the nation and second all-time in Bronco history ... Blake Hadfield of Utah State recorded a second-place triple jump of 48’ 11” (14.91m), at the Air Force Invitational, and was also fourth in the long jump with a leap of 23’ 6.75” (7.18,) with both marks the fourth-longest in the WAC this season.
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