DENVER – Idaho’s Liga Velvere and Kristine Leonard were named the Western Athletic Conference Women’s Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week, respectively, for the week of April 29-May 5.
Velvere, a senior from Saldus, Latvia (Latvian Academy of Sport Education), ran a season-best time of 58.64 in the 400m hurdles Saturday at the Vandal Jamboree. Her first-place finish ranks second in the WAC, 13th in the NCAA West and 32nd in the NCAA so far this season.
Leonard, a senior from Rathdrum, Idaho (Concordia University), took the individual title in the discus throw Saturday at the Vandal Jamboree. She then went onto post the second-best mark in the shot put with a toss of 14.90m (48-10.75). Leonard ended the meet with a third-place finish in the hammer throw with a toss of 53.55m (175-8). Her shot put and hammer throw marks were both career-bests and improved her all-time top-10 entries at Idaho. Her Hammer throw mark ranks fifth in the WAC while her discus throw is sixth so far this season.