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INDOOR TRACK & FIELD ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
MEN
Utah Valley's Jason Lynch and Grand Canyon's Pierre-Louis Ricou have been named Western Athletic Conference Track and Field Athletes of the week, respectively, for Jan. 25-31.
Lynch, a senior from Sandy, Utah (Hillcrest HS) had a strong showing for the Wolverines in the Pacific Northwest placing fourth in the 5,000m run with a time of 14:27.64.
Ricou, a junior from Mornac, France (Lycee Camille Guerin) dominated the heptathlon, winning six of the seven events of the competition. His score of 5378 smashed the previous indoor school record of 4803, set by Timmy Johnson, also at the Mountain T's Invitational, in 2015. Ricou's performance not only was the best in the conference so far this season, but also ranks 11th in the country.
Other track nominees: Grand Canyon's Aaron Thurber ran the fastest time in the 60 meter prelims with a season-best time of 6.73, which after conversion is the second-fastest time in the WAC this season and followed that up with a 6.74 in the finals to place second. Missouri-Kansas City's Jamarice Preston is becoming a major part of the UMKC men's team, as he helped the team score 25 points at the Jayhawk Classic. Preston was a member of the 4x400-meter relay team that took first-place, and also took first in the 400 meters, finishing in a personal-best 49.37 seconds. Preston also took fourth in the long jump with a leap of 6.50 meters. Seattle U's Gus Arroyo broke the four-year-old Seattle U indoor school record in the 3,000 meter run with a time of 8:21.38, finishing 30th out of 54. UT Rio Grande Valley's Christian Williams qualified for the semifinals in the 60-meter hurdles at the Houston Invitational after finishing with a career-best time of 8.42 seconds. He finished the 60-meter hurdles in 22nd after running a time of 8.51 in the semifinals. He also turned in a 61st place finish in the 800-meter run with a career-best time of 2:08.23 and also had a career-best time of 7.42 seconds in the 60-meter dash for a 77th place finish.
Other field nominees: Missouri-Kansas City's Blake Hocking placed fifth at the Jayhawk Classic in the shot put with a throw of 15.92 meters. Utah Valley's McKay Burnett paced the throws with a fourth-place finish in the weight throw, recording a season best mark of 16.99m just two centimeters from his lifetime best of 17.01m. UT Rio Grande Valley's Javier Carretero posted a fourth place finish in the weight throw at the Houston Invitational after hitting a mark of 16.34 meters.
WOMEN
Missouri-Kansas City's Veronica Rollins and Grand Canyon's Tarasue Barnett have been named Western Athletic Conference Track & Field Athletes of the week, respectively, for Jan. 25-31.
Rollins, a senior from Kansas City, Mo. (Lee's Summit North HS) helped the UMKC women's 4x400-meter relay team finish third in a tough competition at the Jayhawk Classic. She also took first in the 800 meters with a career-fastest time of 2:15.54, moving herself from fifth to third-place in UMKC's all-time best performances in the event.
Barnett, a sophomore from Kingston, Jamaica had a mark of 14.87 meters in the shot put which broke the previous school record of 13.66m-held by Vanessa Levy-by over a meter. Barnett opened up the competition with a throw of 13.02m, which set a new indoor personal record for the sophomore from Kingston, Jamaica. It didn't last long though, as Barnett followed it up with a second attempt at 13.99m to qualify for the finals out of her flight. Barnett's record-breaking put came on her fifth attempt of the competition and launched her from fifth place to second with one throw to go and moved her to the top of the WAC ranks in the shot put by over a meter.
Other track nominees: Grand Canyon's Tope Williams raced to fourth place finishes in both the 60 meters (7.66) and the 200 meters (25.46). After conversion, Williams' season-best mark of 7.70 in the 60 meters is now the fastest in the WAC. NM State's Cristina Amberg posted a college best 10:23.53 mark in the 3000m. She also was part of the Distance Medley team that posted a conference-leading time of 12:16.96. Utah Valley's Jasmine Nesbitt took third in the 3K with a time of 10:51.63, while also taking second place in the mile. UT Rio Grande Valley's Jennifer Zapata set a new career-high in the one-mile run after posting a time of 5:11.02 at the Houston Invitational. She finished in 14th place out of 54 runners. She also helped her distance medley relay team to a seventh place finish after they finished with a time of 12:36.19
Other field nominees: Missouri-Kansas City's Yasmin Musaddiq had made strides this season, preparing for the WAC Championships, and took a step forward at the Jayhawk Classic with a third-place finish in the weight throw with a mark of 16.26 meters. Utah Valley's Briana Dusenberry recorded a leap of 1.68m in the high jump, which ranks third all-time on UVU's indoor depth chart. UT Rio Grande Valley's Megan Shaw finished in eighth place in the shot put at the Houston Invitational with a throw of 13.65 meters. Her throw set a new career-high, which ranks fifth in program history and currently ranks fourth in the WAC this season.
REGIONAL RANKINGS
The USTFCAA regional rankings have been posted and two WAC teams rank in the top 15. The Utah Valley men are 9th in the Mountain Region and the Grand Canyon men are 8th in the West Region.
GRAND CANYON'S PIERRE-LOUIS RICOU RANKED NATIONALLY
The junior from Mornac, France is getting national attention. Ricou is ranked 11th in the country in the heptathlon after dominating at the Mountain T's Invitational, winning six of the seven events in the competition.
UTAH VALLEY'S NICK TAYLOR MAKING STRIDES
The senior set a new school record in the 200m dash with a time of 21.14 seconds as the Utah Valley University track and field team competed in the Bronco Invitational in the Ford Idaho Center on Saturday. Taylor surpassed the four-year standing record of 21.18 seconds, earning a victory in the 200m. Earlier in the day, Taylor also snagged the first-place victory in the 60m dash with a time of 6.78 seconds to pace the Wolverines. Taylor is currently tied for 13th in the nation in the 200m, according to tfrrs.org. He is also ranked 33rd in the 60m.
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.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2016 Indoor Track and Field National Championships will be hosted by Samford and take place in Birmingham, Ala. from March 11-12.
March 11-12, 2016
Host: Samford
Location: Birmingham, Ala.
Facility: Birmingham Crossplex