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WAC TRACK & FIELD ATHLETES OF THE WEEK ANNOUNCED
MEN
Seattle U's Shaddye Melu and Utah Valley's Stephen Yoshi Scott have been named Western Athletic Conference Track and Field Athletes of the week, respectively, for March 14-20.
Melu, a senior from Auburn, Wash. (Auburn Mountainview HS) took first place in both the 200 and 400-meter dashes with times of 21.90 and 48.08, respectively. His time in the 200 is a new outdoor personal record, and both times are faster than his previous indoor times. Melu is now ranked No. 1 in the WAC in the 400, and No. 5 in the 200.
Scott, a sophomore from Cedar City, Utah (Canyon View HS) threw the spear for 58.83m, just short of his personal best, for third place overall and is currently ranked No. 1 in the WAC.
Other track nominees: Missouri-Kansas City's Jason Shaw took fifth-place in the 400-meter hurdles, clocking in at 56.75 seconds at the Tulsa Duels in Tulsa, Oklahoma, March 19. Shaw is off to a strong start to the season, coming up just shy of his personal-best time of 56.34 seconds, a mark he hopes to better in the coming weeks. Utah Valley's Nick Taylor won the 100m dash with a speedy time of 10.66 seconds. UVU won the 4x100m relay with a time of 41.02 seconds and a team comprised of Tyler Liddiard, Jordan Peterson, Nick Taylor and Stetson Sartor.
Other field nominees: Missouri-Kansas City's Harpreet Dosanjh kicked off the 2016 outdoor season with a second-place finish in his main event, the javelin, at the Tulsa Duels with a throw of 54.06 meters. Dosanjh also added an eighth-place finish in the discus with a toss of 37.20 meters.
WOMEN
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.
WAC Championships
The 2016 WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships are hosted by Missouri-Kansas City and held in Kansas City, Mo. from May 11-14. Last year, the Utah Valley won and the Missouri-Kansas City women took home the championship.
NCAA CHAMPIONSHIPS
The 2016 Outdoor Track and Field National Championships will take place in Eugene, Ore. from June 8-11.
June 8-11, 2016
Location: Eugene, Ore.
Facility: Hayward Field