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WAC ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
MEN
Chicago State's Ricordo McKenzie and Kansas City's Christopher Bryan have been named Western Athletic Conference Men's Track & Field Athletes of the Week, respectively, for Jan. 29- Feb. 4.
McKenzie, a sophomore from Montego Bay, Jamaica, reset a pair of school records at the Notre Dame Meyo Invitational last weekend. He shaved one-tenth of a second off of his record in the 60-meter dash after posting a time of 6.87 in the finals to capture third place out of 34 competitors. Later he broke the four-year Chicago State record in the 200-meter dash when he crossed the finish line at 21.71 for ninth place out of 39 competitors. He now ranks third on the WAC's performance list for both events.
Bryan, a sophomore from St. Catherine, Jamaica, leapt his way into Kansas City's top-five list in the long jump at the Herm Wilson Invitational on Saturday. He jumped a personal best 7.36 meters in the event to finish second overall in the college division. This mark puts him at the top of the WAC performance list and tied for 75th in the nation.
Other track nominees: Grand Canyon's William Winfield posted a WAC top time and personal record in the 60-meter hurdles posting a converted time of 8.07 as he finished second against 21 competitors… Kansas City's Chadayne Walker finished first in the 60-meter dash with a WAC best time of 6.83 and placed second in the 200-meter dash posting a time of 22.64 seconds… Utah Valley's Jordan Carder placed first in both the 60-meter dash (7.02) and the 200-meter dash (WAC top time of 21.68) and finished fifth in the 400-meter event (49.71)… UT Rio Grande Valley's Abraham Chirchir placed first in the 3,000 meter run against 42 competitors with a time of 8:24.87.
Other field nominees: Chicago State's Landis Houston placed first in the triple jump with a leap of 46-1.50… Grand Canyon's Andrew Okonkwo placed second in the high jump as he tied the school record with a 2.05 meter mark which also placed him at the top of the WAC performance list… Utah Valley's Albert MacArthur won both the triple jump (14.62 meters) and long jump (7.16 meters)… UT Rio Grande Valley's Anthony Magallon set a new personal record with a 1.97 meter high jump.
WOMEN
Utah Valley's Savannah Berry and Grand Canyon's Tarasue Barnett have been named Western Athletic Conference Women's Track & Field Athletes of the Week, respectively, for Jan. 29- Feb. 4.
Berry, a senior from Bakersfield, Calif., severed her own school record in the 5,000-meter run, finishing with a time of 16:54.44 as she finished second against 11 competitors. She overlapped her previous career best (17:20.12) by 25.68 seconds on day one of the Idaho State hosted meet. Berry followed up her 5k finish with another second-place finish in the women's 3,000-meter event with a time of 9:57.27 on the final day of the meet.
Barnett, a senior from Kingston, Jamaica, finished first in the weight throw and fifth in the shot put this past weekend at the Mountain T's Invitational. Barnett's toss in the weight throw moved her into first place on the WAC's top performance list with a mark of 17.97 meters as she beat out 13 competitors. She then finished the weekend with a throw of 12.44 meters in the shot put.
Other track nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Falon Wilson posted two personal bests as she finished the 60-meter dash in 7.65 and the 60-meter hurdles in 8.81… Chicago State's Jocindra Glee broke her own school record in the 400-meter dash with a time of 56.26… Grand Canyon's Briana Myers posted a WAC best with a converted time of 8.62 in the 60-meter hurdles… Kansas City's Genel Rollins finished the weekend with two first-place finishes in the 60-meter dash (7.70) and 200-meter dash (25.22)… NM State's Lashira Tremble posted a personal best in the 60-meter dash with a time of 7.58 in the preliminaries before running a 7.64 in the semis… UT Rio Grande Valley's Idatonye Cheetham-West set a program record in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.95 while finishing the 60-meter dash in 7.76 seconds.
Other field nominees: CSU Bakersfield's Julianne Finch set a school record in the pole vault as she placed first with a mark of 3.82 meters which places her second on WAC's top performance list… Kansas City's Christy Nell cleared 3.71 meters on the pole vault to claim first place and break the school record… NM State's Hannah Smith posted a mark of 1.61 meters in the high jump… Utah Valley's Olivia Neal broke a 13-year-old pole vault record by .12 meters with a mark of 3.65 meters as she placed second, while also posting a 1.41 meter mark in high jump and 9.93 meters in shot put.