DENVER ? Boise State’s Nick Cunningham 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 Mar. 31 ? Apr. 6. This is the first career WAC Outdoor Athlete of the Week honor for both Cunningham and Winger.
Cunningham, a senior from Monterey, Calif., (Monterey), clocked an NCAA Regional qualifying time of 21.24 in the 200-meter dash at the All Idaho Collegiate Cup in Boise, Idaho, good for a first-place finish. Cunningham made a clean sweep of the sprint events, capturing the 100-meter dash title, crossing the finish line with a WAC-best and personal-best time of 10.63. He also anchored the leg of the winning 4x100-meter relay team, clocking a time of 43.00.
Winger, a senior from Colorado Springs, Colo., (Pine Creek) competed in both sections of the discus throw at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif., winning the event on both days. On Apr. 4, Winger threw 190’ 7” (58.10m) to win the event by 27 feet. On Apr. 5, he competed in the top section of the event, winning the event with a school-record launch of 199’ 6” (60.80m). Both throws were well past the NCAA Regional qualifying standard. Winger’s best throw places him fifth in the NCAA this season and first in the WAC by more than 20 feet.
Other Track nominees included: Frank Sanders of Fresno State took third-place in the 800-meter run among 28 competitors in the Stanford Invitational, clocking a WAC-best time of 1:51.56 ... Paul Dittmer of Idaho finished sixth out of 24 runners at the Stanford Invitational with a WAC-leading time of 14.36 in the 100-meter hurdles, ranking ninth-best in Vandal history ... Dasheek Akwenye of Utah State ran a WAC-best and NCAA provisional qualifying time of 46.83 in the 400-meter dash at the BYU Cougar Invitational, and also was a member of the Aggies’ winning 4x400-meter relay team.
Other Field nominees included: Simon Wardhaugh of Boise State finished second and earned an NCAA Regional qualifying standard in the hammer throw at the All Idaho Collegiate Cup, launching 196’ 6” (59.91m), took first in the shot put with a toss of 49’ 11.25” (15.22m) and was second in the discus with a toss of 139’ 0” (42.37m) ... Oscar Rodriguez of Fresno State took sixth in the top section of the shot put at the Stanford Invitational with a throw of 54’ 11.5” (16.75m) ...Blake Hadfield of Utah State placed third in the long jump at the BYU Cougar Invitational, leaping 23’ 3.50” (7.10m).
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