Pac-12 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: AARON NELSON, WASHINGTON (Sr., Walla Walla, Wash.). Senior Aaron Nelson went to No. 1 in the NCAA this season in the 10,000 meters after he was the top collegiate finisher out of a field with multiple professional runners at the Stanford Invitational over the weekend. Nelson ran a time of 28:53.70 in his first 10k on the track in two years.
Women’s Track Athlete of the Week: ERIN CLARK, COLORADO (So., Eugene, Ore.). Sophomore Erin Clark recorded the third-fastest 3,000-meter steeplechase time this season in the NCAA Division I, clocking in at 10:00.77 at the Stanford Invitational on Friday night. The time was seventh in the heat, which featured several Division I, II and professional athletes. The Pac-12 Champion in the event last year as a freshman, Clark was just a more than a second off her personal best (9:59.67).
Men’s Field Athlete of the Week: HARRISON WILLIAMS, STANFORD (So., Memphis, Tenn.). Despite being only a sophomore, Stanford's Harrison Williams broke the Stanford decathlon record for the third-consecutive time by winning the Texas Relays with a score of 7,842 points, the highest score by a collegian or an American this year, and No. 4 in the world. Williams first broke Bob Mathias' school record, from his gold-medal winning effort at the 1952 Olympics, last year at the Pac-12 Championships and eclipsed it while finishing fourth at NCAA's (7,806). Williams' effort at the Texas Relays began only 18 days after placing fourth at the NCAA indoor heptathlon. As a freshman, Williams was second at the Texas Relays, but improved his score by more than 300 points since the same meet last year.
Women’s Field Athlete of the Week: TERA NOVY, USC (Sr., Montesano, Wash.). Senior Tera Novy won the women’s discus throw at the California Collegiate Invitational over the weekend, breaking her school record with a throw of 196-6 (59.90m), beating the field by nearly four feet. The mark was a 2-foot, 7-inch personal best and is the top throw in the country this season. She has thrown at least 189-10 in all three meets this season.
2016 Pac-12 Track & Field Athletes of the Week
Men’s Track: March 22 – Devon Allen, ORE; March 29 – Ricky Morgan, USC; April 5 – Aaron Nelson, WASH.
Women’s Track: March 22 – Annie Leblanc, ORE; March 29 – Jaide Stepter, USC; April 5 – Erin Clark, STAN.
Men’s Field: March 22 – Cody Danielson, ORE; March 29 – Adoree’ Jackson, USC; April 5 - Harrison Williams, STAN.
Women’s Field: March 22 – Valarie Allman, STAN; March 29 - Maggie Ewen, ASU; April 5 – Tera Novy, USC.