DENVER – Idaho’s Hannah Kiser and Louisiana Tech’s Chelsea Hayes were named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Women’s Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week, respectively, for the week of Jan. 23-29.
Kiser, a sophomore from Wenatchee, Wash. (Wenatchee HS), posted a pair of career bests and individual victories, as well as a meet record, last Saturday at the Cougar Indoor. She ran a career-best 4:42.41 (converted for track size) in the women’s mile run to break the former meet record by a seven-second margin. The mile time is the fastest in the WAC this season by a full second and ranks 22nd in the NCAA. The mark is also the third-fastest in school history. She added an individual victory in the 800-meters with a career-best 2:12.96 (converted), which is the second-fastest time in the WAC this season. She won the 800-meters by more than five seconds and won the mile by more than eight seconds at the meet. She is the only WAC woman ranked in the top 10 in both the 800-meters and the mile so far this season.
Hayes, a senior from New Orleans, La. (Butler County CC), set a new school record in the long jump last weekend at the Arkansas State Invitational with a mark of 20-11.25 (6.38m). That is the second-best mark in the nation this year and leads the Western Athletic Conference by more than a foot and a half. It is almost two full feet better than any non-Louisiana Tech jumper in the conference. Hayes also set a school record to win the 55-meter dash (6.91), in addition to victories in the 200-meters (23.76) and as the second leg of the winning 4x400-meter relay team. She holds the fastest time in the WAC in four different distances.
Other track nominees included: Fresno State sophomore Breeauna Thompson … Nevada freshman Kashae Knox … New Mexico State junior Courtney Schultz … Utah State senior Kim Quinn.
Other field nominees included: Hawai’i senior Madara Apine … Idaho senior Gabby Midles … Nevada senior La Tjiera Avery … New Mexico State senior Bellosie Frazier … Utah State sophomore Chari Hawkins.