DENVER - Utah Valley's Savannah Berry and Grand Canyon's Tarasue Barnett have been named Western Athletic Conference Track and Field Athletes of the Week, respectively, for April 11-17.
Berry, a sophomore from Bakersfield, Calif. (Highland HS) just missed the Utah Valley University school record in the 10,000m run by a mere two seconds, securing the No. 2 all-time position with a speedy time of 34:42.13. Berry ran the fastest time posted by a UVU athlete in this event in five years. Berry is ranked No. 66 in the country on the NCAA level in the 10K.
Barnett, a junior from Kingston, Jamaica (Edwin Allen HS) won the elite division of the Mt. Sac Relays in the discus throw with a mark of 58.08m, winning by a margin of just over two feet. Barnett also placed fourth in the college/open division of the women's shot put on Friday with a throw of 14.75m.
Other track nominees: Grand Canyon's Kelsi Klotterbroke her own school record at the Beach Invitational on Friday with a time of 17:40.93 to finish second place in the first heat of the 5000m. Klotter's previous school record was 17:49.47 from the Steve Scott Invitational. Missouri-Kansas City's Mallory Short had a busy weekend in California, competing in six events across three different meets. Starting with the Beach Pacific Coast Intercollegiate, Short helped the 4x100-meter relay team place fourth, before taking 11th in the 200 with a time of 26.09. Short also set a personal record in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.95 seconds at the meet to place second. At the Bryan Clay Invitational, Short was a member of the 4x1 team that placed eighth, and ran a 14.16-second 100-meter hurdles to take 12th. Wrapping up the weekend at the Beach Invitational, Short re-set her personal record in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.92 seconds. Seattle U's Katie Flemingbroke the outdoor school record in the 400 meter hurdles (a record previously set by herself last year) with a time of 64.16, giving her a second-place finish in her heat. Then, the next day at the Beach Invite, she re-set the outdoor school record in the 400 meter hurdles with a time of 63.67, giving her a third-place finish in her heat. That time gives her a No. 6 ranking in the WAC in that event. UT Rio Grande Valley's Teresa Sova posted a second place finish in the 10,000-meter run at the Long Beach Invitational after crossing the finish line with a career-best time of 37.09.01, which ranks second fastest in program history. Her time in the 10,000-meter run currently ranks third in the WAC.
Other field nominees: Missouri-Kansas City's Matia Finley moved into second in the UMKC all-time record books at the Beach Pacific Coast Intercollegiate in the discus, where she placed ninth with a throw of 47.70 meters. The mark qualifies Finley for USA Junior Nationals, and is just 1.3 meters behind the UMKC record set in 1997. Seattle U's Mandie Madduxcleared her outdoor school record height of 1.65 meters, finishing in fourth and fifth places in her heats at each event, respectively. That height ranks her at No. 2 in the WAC in the event. UT Rio Grande Valley's Megan Shaw posted a pair of top-10 finishes at the Mt. SAC Relays over the weekend as she posted a third place finish in the discus throw after hitting a mark of 47.70 meters. She then added a 10th place finish in the shot put after a throw of 13.87 meters. Shaw closed out her weekend at the Long Beach Invitational where she finished 22nd out of 60 throwers in the shot put with a mark of 13.68 meters while also finishing in 37th out of 67th in the discus throw with a throw of 41.66 meters. Utah Valley's Caitlin Woodward threw 42.76m to be No. 6 all-time at UVU at the Beach Invitational.