DENVER ? Louisiana Tech’s Chasidee Lewis and Nadia Alexander have been named the Western Athletic Conference Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week for the week of Apr. 7-13. This is the first career WAC Outdoor Athlete of the Week honor for Lewis and the second career honor for Alexander, who has already earned the award once this season. This is the first season that honors for both “Track” and “Field” athletes will be awarded each week.
Lewis, a freshman from Alexandria, La., (Alexandria) ran a WAC-leading 100-meter dash at the LSU Invitational in Baton Rouge, La., clocking a time of 11.56 to finish fifth in the event.
Alexander, a junior from Kingston, Jamaica, (St. Hugh’s), finished first in the shot put at the LSU Invitational in Baton Rouge, La., with a personal-best toss of 51’ 11.25” (15.83m). Alexander improved her NCAA Regional qualifying mark by nearly eight inches and moved atop the WAC standings in the event.
Other Track nominees included: Kayleen McDowell of Boise State won the 800-meter dash at the Sun Angel Classic in Tempe, Ariz., with a personal-best and NCAA Regional qualifying time of 2:09.61, which leads the WAC and is the 10th-best in the Western Region ... Devin Brooks of New Mexico State broke the school record for the second week in a row in the 100-meter hurdles, clocking a time of 14.25 at the UTEP Invitational in El Paso, Texas ... Katie Thatcher of Utah State posted a season-best and NCAA Regional qualifying time of 1:00.68 in the 400-meter dash, good for fifth-place at the UCLA Invitational.
Other Field nominees included: Eleni Kafourou of Boise State tied for third in the long jump at the Sun Angel Classic in Tempe, Ariz., with a leap of 19’ 11.5” (6.08m), earning the top spot in the WAC and tied for second in the Western Region ... Kayla Xavier of Fresno State placed third in the shot put at the UCLA Invitational in Los Angeles, Calif., registering a mark of 45’ 9.25” (13.95m) ... Randi Grimes of New Mexico State recorded a second-place finish in the hammer throw with a toss of 165’ 10” (50.54m) and a fifth-place finish in the javelin with a mark of 129’ 7” (39.50m) at the UTEP Invitational in El Paso, Texas ... Krista Larson of Utah State registered an NCAA Regional qualifying mark in the hammer throw with a toss of 178’ 10” (54.52m), placing fourth at the UCLA Invitational.
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