DENVER ? Fresno State’s Val-Pierre Dai’Re and Idaho’s Russ Winger have been named the Western Athletic Conference Men’s Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week for the week of Apr. 21-27. This is the first career WAC Outdoor Athlete of the Week honor for Dai’Re and the second for Winger, who earned the award once already this season. This is the first season that honors for both “Track” and “Field” athletes will be awarded each week.
Dai’Re, a sophomore from Merced, Calif., (Buhach Colony), clocked a WAC-best and NCAA Regional qualifying time of 51.80 to finish third in the 400-meter hurdles at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational in Berkeley, Calif. He bettered his previous regional qualifying time by .20 seconds and leads the WAC by over one second. Dai’Re also took fifth in the 400-meter dash with a personal-best time of 48.20.
Winger, a senior from Colorado Springs, Colo., (Pine Creek), achieved a feat that nobody else in the NCAA has done this year. In a single day, Winger hit NCAA Regional qualifying marks in the shot put, discus and hammer throw at the Cougar Invitational in Pullman, Wash. His shot put of 65’ 11” (20.09m) was a meet record by a two-foot margin and was 15-feet better than the second-place finisher. It is also the second-best throw in the NCAA this season behind Winger’s own throw of 66’ 9.75” (20.36m) from a week ago. Winger also won the discus with a heave of 190’ 0” to win the event by a two-foot margin, which is nearly 15-feet better than the next-best throw in the WAC this season. Winger then took fourth in the hammer throw with a lifetime-best toss of 202’ 3” (61.66m).
Other Track nominees included: Paul Dittmer of Idaho finished second in the 110-meter hurdles at the Cougar Invitational in Pullman, Wash., clocking a time of 14.40 ... Seth Wold of Utah State placed second in the 10,000-meter run at the Oregon Relays with a personal-best time of 30:20.65, improving on his WAC-leading time by nearly 30 seconds.
Other Field nominees included: Gary Lee of Fresno State won the long jump at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational in Berkeley, Calif., with a leap of 24’ 3.5” (7.40m) ... Larry Jones of Louisiana Tech earned the Bulldogs’ highest finish at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa, finishing fourth in the discus with a toss of 172’ 9” (52.66m) ... Chase Taylor of Utah State recorded a season-best toss of 197’ 9” (60.28m) in the javelin, taking fourth at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational in Berkeley, Calif., improving his previous best by over 1.50 feet.
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