DENVER - Utah Valley's Nicholas Taylor and CSU Bakersfield's Joselito Flores have been named Western Athletic Conference Track and Field Athletes of the week, respectively, for April 18-24.
Taylor, a senior from Pearland, Texas (Clear Brook HS) was a part of a 4x100 m relay team that broke the school record and posted a projected NCAA qualifying time of 40.40 seconds. The team consisted of Jordan Peterson, Nicholas Taylor, Tyler Liddiard and Stetson Sartor. Taylor continued to have a day and ran a personal best 10.30 seconds in the 100m dash, making him the fastest man in the WAC for the second consecutive year, posting the fastest time in the conference. Taylor leads the conference in the 200m dash as well, and is on track to qualify for the NCAA Western Regional Rounds in three events. Taylor's new time is just .03 seconds off of Allah Laryea-Akrong's UVU school record of 10.27 seconds. Taylor continued on and posted a 21.10-second time in the 200m dash for second place overall.
Flores, a sophomore from Fairfield, CA (St. Patrick-St. Vincent HS) reset his personal best in the high jump in Fresno. The sophomore's 6-09.50 mark earned Flores the win on Saturday while moving him up to eighth all-time for the ‘Runners in the event. The native of Fairfield, Calif. also recorded the third-best mark this season in the Western Athletic Conference.
Other track nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Michael Lovato lowered his personal best in the 800 by almost a whole second with a time of 1:55.02. Lovato joined his teammates in climbing the all-time ranks while placing third in Fresno. The senior moved from just outside the Top 20 to 18th with the time in Fresno. Lovato's time was also the seventh-best in the WAC this season. Missouri-Kansas City's Darrien Case had an impressive showing at the Kansas Relays, where he ran to a seventh-place finish in the 800 meters with a time of 1:54.93. The highlight of the weekend for Case, however, came in the men's distance medley relay where he helped lead the team to a first-place finish with a time of 10:06.12.
Other field nominees: Chicago State's Kameron Jackson recorded a personal-best leap of 46'5.25†(14.15 meters) en route to capturing a second-place finish in the triple jump at the Concordia University Cougar Invitational. Missouri-Kansas City's Harpreet Dosanjh posted a season-best mark in the javelin at the Kansas Relays, placing fifth overall, and first among DI athletes with a throw of 57.75 meters. Utah Valley's Daven Russell broke the school record he set last season with a career best throw in the shot put with a mark of 16.11m at the annual Clarence F. Robison Invitational hosted by Brigham Young University. Russell finished in seventh place overall at the meet and bested his previous record by 10 centimeters.