Pac-12 announces outdoor track & field athletes of the week

SAN FRANCISCO – The Pac-12 Conference outdoor track and field athlete of the week honors for the week of March 28-April 4:

Men’s Track Athlete of the Week: ANDRE De GRASSE, USC (Jr., Toronto, Canada). Junior Andre De Grasse won the men’s 200 meter at the Florida Relays with a PR of 20.20 (+1.6). His time is the fastest in the country this season, fourth on USC’s all-time list and ties for sixth-fastest all-time in Pac-12 history. He was third in the 100-meter dash, second among collegians, with a PR of 10.11 (+0.3), moving into eighth on USC’s all-time 100m dash list and is currently the second-fastest wind-legal time in the country. De Grasse also ran the second leg on USC’s third-place 4x100-meter relay team (1st among college teams) with a time of 38.97. That time moves the quartet into eighth place on USC’s all-time list and is the school’s fastest since the 2005 season. De Grasse also helped the Trojan’s place first out of 35 teams in the 4x200 meter with a time of 1:20.72, but later was disqualified for an exchange zone violation. Also Nominated: Connor Winter, COLO; Tyler King, WASH.

Women’s Track Athlete of the Week: DEANNA HILL, USC (Fr., Orlando, Fla.). A freshman, Deanna Hill was second in the 200 meter at the Florida Relays, and first among collegiate sprinters, with a PR of 22.88 (+1.6), the top-collegiate time in the country. It ties her for eighth all-time at USC. The race featured a strong cast including Olympians and former NCAA Champions. Hill also set a PR in the 100-meter dash of 11.44 (-0.7) to finish eighth, fifth among college runners. That time currently ranks 10th on the NCAA list. Hill ran the leadoff leg for the winning 4x100-meter relay which won the Walter Welsch Award with a time of 43.85, and a leg on the winning 4x200-meter relay which went 1:31.41 to beat all teams and finish .42 seconds off the school record. USC’s time was more than three seconds faster than the next collegiate team and 1.67 seconds faster than the top professional team. Also Nominated: Elvin Kibet, ARIZ; Ana Holland, COLO; Molly Grabill, ORE; Claudia Saunders, STAN; Sarah Feeny, UTAH; CharLee Linton, WSU.

Men’s Field Athlete of the Week: CONOR McCULLOUGH, USC (Sr., Canoga Park, Calif.). Senior Conor McCullough competed outdoors for the first time since 2012 and won the hammer throw and placed fourth in the discus throw at the California Collegiate Invitational in La Jolla, Calif. He won the discus with a throw of 233-7 (71.21m) to move into fifth on USC’s all-time list and is tops in the country this year. In fact, he had four throws over 231 in the competition, while no other collegiate thrower has topped 230 this season, and only eight have gone over 220. His discus throw of 164-5 (50.12m) was just his seventh competition in the event, first since 2012. Also Nominated: Michael Egotanda, COLO; Jaak Uudmae, STAN; Frank Catelli, WASH.

Women’s Field Athlete of the Week: TERA NOVY, USC (Jr., Montesano, Wash.). Junior Tera Novy is the Pac-12 Women’s Field Athlete of the Week for the second time in three weeks. She won the discus throw and shot put competitions at the California Collegiate Invitational in La Jolla, Calif., last weekend. Novy, who ranks third in the country, was very consistent making five throws over 175-9, with only the second-place finisher topping that mark. 175-9 currently ranks 14th in the country and had five throws above that. She also showed consistency in the shot with four throws over 44-5.50, posting a winning mark of 45-4.25 (13.82m), just 3⁄4 of an inch further than the next two throwers. Also Nominated: Abrianna Torres, COLO; Helen Ann Haun, OSU; Rebecca Hammar, STAN; Ilse Kaaja, UTAH; Gina Flint, WASH.

2014 Pac-12 Track & Field Athletes of the Week

Men’s Track: March 24 – BeeJay Lee, USC; March 30 – Harrison Williams, STAN; April 6 – Andre De Grasse, USC.

Women’s Track: March 24 – Amalie Iuel, USC; March 30 – Shelby Houlihan, ASU; April 6 – Deanna Hill, USC.

Men’s Field: March 24 – Jax Thoirs, WASH; March 30 – Nicholas Scarvelis, UCLA; April 6 – Conor McCullough, USC.

Women’s Field: March 24 – Tera Novy, USC; March 30 – Abrianna Torres, COLO; April 6 – Tera Novy, USC.