United Athletic Conference

Tarleton's Anterius Brown and Grand Canyon's Jorden Okyere have been named TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Men's Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week, respectively, for March 15 through March 21.

 

Brown, a senior from Dallas, posted the WAC's fastest 400m time this season at the Wes Kittley ACU Invitational, taking second in the event with a time of 47.68. The three-time NCAA Division II All-American was also part of the Texans' 4x400m relay, which took second with a time of 3:16.52, which ranks second in the WAC this season.

 

Okyere, a junior from Phoenix, posted the WAC's top throws in both the hammer (59.31m) and discus (50.77m) at the Willie Wilson Classic in Tucson. His discus throw also set a new Lopes' program record and he recorded the WAC's third-best shot put throw (16.39m) this season as well.

 

Other track nominees: Grand Canyon's Jan Krai ran the third-fastest time in the 400m in the WAC this season, taking seventh in the event at the Willie Williams Classic … UT Rio Grande Valley's Wes Franklin took sixth in both the 110m high hurdles and 400m hurdles at the UTSA Invitational in San Antonio … Utah Valley's Isaac Manning took fourth in the decathlon at the UNLV Spring Invitational, earning the top mark in both the 400m run and pole vault.

 

Other field nominees: Tarleton's Alan Palmer took second in both the long jump and high jump at the Wes Kittley ACU Invitational and was also part of the second-place 4x400m relay team … UT Rio Grande Valley's Harry Barthelemy won the triple jump and took third in the long jump a the UTSA Invitational in San Antonio.

 

Grand Canyon's Alexa Hokanson and Madelyn Lundberg have been named TicketSmarter Western Athletic Conference Women's Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week, respectively, for March 15 through March 21.

 

Hokanson, a senior from Scottsdale, Ariz., recorded the top 800m run in the WAC this season, taking second at the Willie Williams Classic with a time of 2:09.4. The time is also among the top in the nation this year, placing seventh in the NCAA West Region.

 

Lundberg, a senior from Phoenix, posted the WAC's top pole vault mark on the season, winning the event at the Willie Williams Classic in Tucson. Clearing 4.10m, her mark is also second in the NCAA West Region this year. She earned a win in the event during the indoor season as well at the Air Force Collegiate Open.

 

Other track nominees: NM State's Israel Swanson performed well in her first collegiate meet led by a third-place finish in the 400m hurdles at the Willie Wilson Classic … Tarleton's Hanna Dudley led the Texans in both sprinting events at the Wes Kittley ACU Invitationals, taking fourth in the 100m dash and seventh in the 200m dash … UT Rio Grande Valley's Tamara Woodley won the 400m run at the UTSA Invitational with a time of 55.30.

 

Other field nominees: NM State's Dascha Robinson posted a new PR in the long jump at 5.43m at the Willie Williams Classic … Tarleton's Jasmine McQuirter finished third in the long jump at the Wes Kittley ACU Invitational … UT Rio Grande Valley's Desirea Buerge had a pair of second place finishes at the UTSA Invitational, recording 15.36m in the shot put and 53.57m in the discus … Utah Valley's Savanna Routsong set a new PR in the hammer throw with a throw of 53.41m at the UNLV Spring Invitational.

 

Tarleton heads to Austin this week for the Texas Relays while Grand Canyon and NM State travel to San Diego for the Aztec Invitational. UT Rio Grande Valley will make the drive along the gulf to Houston for the Victor Lopez Classic.

 

The USTFCCCA is expected to release the first rankings — both regional and national — on March 29.

 

The 2021 WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships are headed to Edinburg, Texas as UT Rio Grande Valley will serve as the host after last year's championships were canceled due to the pandemic. This year's meet is set for May 13-15.

 

The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) announced its 2020 All-Academic Teams for the 2020 season and seven different WAC schools were honored.

 

Among those teams that received the award, both the men's and women's programs from California Baptist, Grand Canyon, Seattle U and Utah Valley were honored. The women's programs from NM State and UT Rio Grande Valley also earned recognition. In addition, WAC newcomer Tarleton was also honored at the Division II level with the Texans' men's team garnering the award.

 

For the second consecutive year, the CBU women's team claimed the highest grade-point average among WAC teams, posting a 3.726 cumulative GPA.

 

In total, 264 different women's programs and 199 different men's programs were honored across Division I.

 

Several individual student-athletes were also honored, earning All-Academic honors by holding a minimum 3.25 cumulative GPA and either finishing the season ranked in the top 96 nationally or in the top 48 in any championship relay event during the most recent indoor season.

 

The Grand Canyon, Tarleton and Utah Valley men's teams each had one honoree as Grant Carpenter represented the Lopes, Larry Still earned recognition for the Wolverines, and Colton Troutman was honored for the Texans.

 

On the women's side, GCU had three representatives while two members of the Tarleton State team were recognized. The Lopes' Madelyn Lundberg, Alyson Schwartz and Niki Xydona earned the honor while Jasmine McQuirter and Kylee Ponder represented Tarleton.

 

Across Division I, 452 men and 659 women received honors.