DENVER - Grand Canyon's Aaron Thurber and Missouri-Kansas City's Blake Hocking have been named Western Athletic Conference Track and Field Athletes of the week, respectively, for Jan. 11-17.
Thurber, a senior from Phoenix, (Willow Canyon) placed third in the 60m with a time that ranks second in the WAC and placed fourth in the 200m with a time that is the fastest in the WAC so far this year.
Hocking, a senior from Lawrence, Kansas (Lawrence HS) placed first in the shot put at the Holiday Inn Invitational, despite not having his best stuff. Hocking's best mark at the meet (16.03 meters) was over a meter short of a personal-record, yet was better than the 18 other competitors in the event, showing how important the senior will be to the success of the ‘Roos men this season.
Other track nominees: Missouri-Kansas City's Jason Shaw notched a new personal-record in the 600 meters at the Holiday Inn Invitational. Placing 16th-overall with a time of 1:23.74, he shaved nearly three seconds off his previous-best time, one of the best improvements on a PR for the UMKC men at the meet. Shaw also helped the distance medley relay team to a ninth-place finish. Seattle U's Gus Arroyo broke his personal record in this event with a time of 8:26.96, which was also extremely close to breaking the school indoor record of 8:21.63, set by Erik Barkhaus in 2012. He now holds the second-fastest time in school history in this indoor event. UT Rio Grande Valley's Jose Juan Wells finished in fourth place in the 5,000-meter run at the Aggie Team Invitational after posting a time of 15:18.97, which ranks fifth in program history.
Other field nominees: Grand Canyon's Scott Marshall placed second in the men's pole vault with a mark of 5.10m which currently leads the WAC. Additionally, Marshall's mark tied the Vince Frawley's Grand Canyon school record, set in 2012. Seattle U's Devon Walker broke the school indoor record (last set in 2013) in this event with a toss of 14.61m (47'-11.25â€). UT Rio Grande Valley's Javier Carretero finished in second place in the weight throw at the Aggie Invitational after a throw of 16.19 meters. Carretero was just one of three throwers to surpass the 16-meter mark as he finished less than a meter behind first place.