DENVER - Seattle U's Elena Smith and NM State's La'Shya Cole have been named Western Athletic Conference Track and Field Athletes of the Week, respectively, for March 14-20.
Smith, a senior from Seattle, Wash. (Nathan Hale HS) finished in fourth place in the 5,000 with a new outdoor personal record time of 17:32.53. This time has her currently ranked at No. 2 in the WAC.
Cole, a sophomore from Orange, Texas (West Orange Stark HS) won the Triple Jump with a mark of 11.93m (39 ft. 1.75 in.) and placed third in the Long Jump with a mark of 5.68m (18 ft. 7.75 in.) at the Willie Williams Classic. She leads the conference in both events with these marks.
Other track nominees: NM State's Christina Amberg won the 5000m race at the Willie Williams Classic at Arizona with a time of 18:03.8. Utah Valley's Gately Garnett set a new personal record in the 100m hurdles with a time of 14.51, bettering her standings on the UVU all-time top-ten depth chart.
Other field nominees: Missouri-Kansas City's Ma'Tia Finley made an immediate impact on the UMKC record books, nestling herself into third all-time in the discus, in her first collegiate outdoor meet with a throw of 46.35 meters. Finley also added a 12th-place finish in the shot put with a throw of 10.45 meters. Seattle U's Mariah Gibbs finished in fourth place in the triple jump with a distance of 11.53m (37'-10â€). Her jump is a new outdoor personal record, almost beat the current school record, and places her at No. 4 in the WAC. Utah Valley's Chantil Martin finished in third place in the hammer throw with a mark of 51.46m, a new personal record for the junior transfer.