Complete Release in PDF Format
Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week
Men
Utah Valley's Nicholas Taylor and Chicago State's Kory Jackson have been named Western Athletic Conference Track and Field Athletes of the week, respectively, for Jan. 4-10.
Taylor, a senior from Pearland, Texas (Clear Brook HS) neared the 60m-dash school record in the contest at BYU with a speedy time of 6.72 seconds, a personal record for the senior.
Jackson, a senior from Blue Island, Ill. (Eisenhower) earned his second consecutive second-place finish of the indoor season as he placed second at the Lewis Open after recording a jump of 23-03.50 (7.10 meters).
Other track nominees: Chicago State's DiJon Smith claimed his first event title of the season as he won the 1,000-meter run at the Lewis University Open in helping the Cougars finish third in the team standings. He crossed the finish line at a time of 2:52.11and later helped the CSU Distance Medley Relay team finish first with a time of 10:57.77. Missouri-Kansas City's Jason Fambrough competed in his first meet of the 2016 indoor season at the Bill Easton Classic in Lawrence, Kansas, where he ran the mile for the first time in his career. The Raymore, Missouri native did not disappoint in the race, placing second with a time of 4:26.24.
Other field nominees: Missouri-Kansas City's Blake Hocking picked up where he left off the 2015 season, by placing first in shot at the Bill Easton Classic in his hometown of Lawrence, Kansas. The senior's winning mark of 15.59 meters was well short of a career-best, but good enough to win the competition. He also competed in the weight throw, where he placed sixth with a mark of 12.60 meters. Utah Valley's Daven Russell broke his own school record in the shot put with a mark of 16.24m and third place at the meet.
Women
Missouri-Kansas City's Mallory Short and Kelsey Benoit have been named Western Athletic Conference Track & Field Athletes of the week, respectively, for Jan. 4-10.
Short, a junior from Columbia, Mo. (Rock Bridge HS) showed her intentions for repeating as the WAC champion in the 60-meter hurdles, when she took second in the event at the Bill Easton Classic in Lawrence, Kansas on Friday (January 8). Short took first in her heat of the prelims with a time of 8.90 seconds. In the finals, she finished in 8.77 seconds to earn second, which has her sitting at the top of the WAC performance list early in the season.
Benoit, a senior from Centralia, Mo. (Centralia HS) took second-place in the shot put at the Bill Easton Classic in Lawrence, Kansas with a throw of 13.13 meters. Benoit also placed fourth in the weight throw with a mark of 14.95 meters.
Other track nominees: Chicago State's Alisha Wren crossed the finish line with a time of 7.21 to claim second-place honors in the 55-meter dash at the Lewis Open. Utah Valley's Alena Gillespie won the 300m dash at the BYU Invitational with an impressive time of 41.17 seconds in a loaded field.
Other field nominees: Utah Valley's Chantil Martin led the Wolverine women in the throws with an outstanding performance in the weight throw, a mark of 15.82m, good enough for second place on the day. Martin also competed in the shot put with a toss of 10.64m.
WAC Championships
The 2016 WAC Indoor Track and Field Championships are held in Nampa, Idaho from Feb. 25-27. The Utah Valley men and Grand Canyon women will be looking to repeat titles from last year.