Courtesy of the Big Sky Conference
OGDEN, Utah (April 18, 2016) – The Big Sky Conference has selected men's and women's Track and Field Athletes of the Week after outstanding performances at prestigious meets in California. Northern Arizona's Futsum Zienasellassie and Weber State's Ellie Child are the men's and women's Track Athletes of the Week. Some familiar faces claimed the weekly field honors, with Eastern Washington's Kaytlyn Coleman taking her third straight women's field award and fourth this season and Southern Utah's Jayson Kovar picking up his second men's nod.
Child, a junior from Kaysville, Utah, ran a personal-best time of 10 minutes, 9.68 seconds in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the Mt. SAC Relays. She placed 11th overall in the invite elite section and was the second collegiate finisher in the heat. That time now ranks atop the Big Sky, ninth in the Division I West Region and 17th in the country while moving Child into eighth all-time on the conference list. Child is a three-time All-Conference performer this academic year, winning the 3,000 Big Sky title indoors and adding a pair of runner-up finishes in cross country and the indoor 5K. This is her second Athlete of the Week honor this season.
Zienasellassie, a junior from Indianapolis, Ind., won the 5,000 at the Bryan Clay Invitational with one of the top times in the country of 13:37.89. He put a gap of nearly 11 seconds on the rest of the field in running one of three sub 13:38 times in Division I over the weekend while also breaking a 22-year old stadium record for Azusa Pacific. Zienasellassie shot up to third in Big Sky history with that time, trailing only NAU's Diego Estrada and David McNeill. His time ranks third in the nation and just over half a second behind Division I leader Patrick Corona of Air Force (13:37.24).
Coleman, a senior from Kennewick, Wash., eclipsed 200 feet in the hammer throw for the second straight week with a launching of 200-7 (61.13m) at the Beach Invitational. She finished seventh overall and was the top collegiate finisher at the meet while breaking her own school record at Eastern Washington she set the previous weekend. Coleman continues to rank No. 7 on the all-time Big Sky list and sits ninth in the west region and 17th in the nation. She has earned Athlete of the Week seven times in 2016, with this being her fourth nod outdoors along with three indoors.
Kovar, a senior from Ridgecrest, Calif., shattered SUU's school record in the discus with a throw of 193-6 (58.97m) at the Beach Invitational. He eclipsed the previous school record of 184-9 by Carlos Valle on three different attempts before unleashing his personal best on his final throw to finish fifth overall and first amongst collegiate competitors. Kovar moved into the Big Sky record books with that performance, now ranking seventh all-time. The senior ranks fourth in the west region and 13th nationally.
Other Women's Track Nominations: Katie Mahoney - Eastern Washington; Kinsey Gomez - Idaho; Maisie Larrabee - Idaho State; Jessica Bailey - Montana; Natasha Brown - North Dakota; 4x400 - Northern Arizona; Alivia Ayres-Perry - Northern Colorado; Amanda Boman - Portland State; Chloe Berlioux - Sacramento State; Brindisy Russell - Southern Utah
Other Women's Field Nominations: Faith Eruwa - Idaho; Kaitlin Sorensen-Keller - Idaho State; Sammy Evans - Montana; Danielle Rider - Montana State; Jayd Eggert - North Dakota; Jessica Weise - Northern Arizona; Alisha Allen - Northern Colorado; ChaQuinn Cook - Portland State; Danielle Brandon - Sacramento State; Natasha Powell - Weber State
Other Men's Track Nominations: Jeremy VanAssche - Eastern Washington; Ben Ayesu-Attah - Idaho; Ty James - Idaho State; Sterling Reneau - Montana; Sheldon Prince - Portland State; Paul Lyons - Sacramento State; Ibrahim Ahmed - Southern Utah; Josh Hartford - Weber State
Other Men's Field Nominations: Aaron Cunningham - Eastern Washington; Arphaxad Carroll - Idaho; Deante Gaines - Idaho State; Jensen Lillquist - Montana; Kyle Douglass - Montana State; Shawn Collins - Northern Arizona; Francisco Au - Northern Colorado; Spenser Schmidt - Portland State; James Kinloch - Sacramento State
