DENVER - Grand Canyon's Aaron Thurber and Marcus Flannigan have been named Western Athletic Conference Track and Field Athletes of the week, respectively, for March 21-27.
Thurber, a senior from Phoenix, Ariz. (Willow Canyon) won the men's 100 meters with a time of 10.34, the No. 6 time in all of Division I. Thurber is the WAC's fastest runner this season in the 100 and 200. In addition to his win, Thurber also ran the second leg of the 4x100-meter relay, which placed second overall in the meet and has the WAC's fastest time.
Flannigan, a junior from Chandler, Ariz. (Chandler) finished third overall in the long jump with a jump of 7.28 meters, the best mark in the WAC this outdoor season to date. Flannigan also placed eighth overall in the 100 with a time of 10.67, running the third leg of the 4x100-meter relay which placed second and the anchor leg of the victorious 4x400-meter relay. Both relays are currently the fastest in the WAC and Flannigan's 100-meter time trails only Thurber in the conference ranks.
Other track nominees: UT Rio Grande Valley's Yariel Matute finished in third place in the 4000-meter dash at the Victor Lopez Classic after crossing the finish line with a time of 47.47 seconds. His time ranks third in program history and currently ranks first in the WAC this season. He then helped his 4x400-meter relay team finish in fifth place as they finished with a time of 3:14.33.
Other field nominees: Chicago State's Kory Jackson recorded a season-best jump of 23-05.25 (7.14 meters) at the UNF Spring Break Invitational to earn a fourth-place finish and also placed him second in the current WAC performance list. UT Rio Grande Valley's Javier Carretero posted a third place in the hammer throw at the Victor Lopez Classic after hitting a mark of 57.78 meters. He was just one of three throwers to surpass the 55-meter mark. His throw of 57.78 meters currently ranks first in the WAC by more than six meters.