Folders |
Second National Athletes of the Week For 2015-16 Indoor Season - USTFCCCAPublished by
By Tyler Mayforth, USTFCCCA December 15, 2015 NEW ORLEANS — Indoor track & field keeps rolling along. Student-athletes across the nation turned in another batch of strong performances and from those, six stood out among the rest. Portland’s William Kincaid (Division I Men), Kentucky’s Sha’Keela Saunders (Division I Women), Chardon State’s Damarcus Simpson (Division II Men), Chardon State’s Stachia Reuwsaat (Division II Women), Messiah’s Tim Moses (Division III Men) and Trine’s Kara Eck (Division III Women) were named the National Athletes of the Week, as announced Tuesday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA). Find out more about each of these runners by clicking their names or scrolling below. National Athlete of the Week is an award selected and presented by the USTFCCCA Communications Staff at the beginning of each week to six collegiate indoor track & field athletes (male and female for each of the three NCAA divisions). Nominations are open to the public. Coaches and sports information directors are encouraged to nominate their student-athletes; as are student-athletes, their families and friends, and fans of their programs. The award seeks to highlight not only the very best times, marks and scores on a week-to-week basis, but also performances that were significant on the national landscape and/or the latest in a series of strong outings. Quality of competition, suspenseful finishes and other factors will also play a role in the decision. DIVISION I MEN — William Kincaid, PortlandSenior | Littleton, Colorado Don’t tell those running the 5,000 meters at the Hoosier Open that it’s early in the season. Five runners turned in sub-13:50 times and Kincaid led the way in 13:44.54. Kincaid outkicked Northern Arizona’s Futsum Zienaesellassie (13:44.89) on the final lap to come away with the win and to become the national leader. That was also Kincaid’s first indoor 5K in his collegiate career. DIVISION I WOMEN — Sha’Keela Saunders, KentuckyJunior | Suffolk, Virginia Saunders wouldn’t be denied at the Hoosier Open. The junior from Suffolk, Virginia turned in an impressive leap of 21-6.25 (6.56m) on her final attempt to increase the national lead by more than one foot. Saunders also beat her jump at the 2015 NCAA Division I Indoor Track & Field Championships by one inch, the one that earned her second place. DIVISION II MEN — Damarcus Simpson, Chardon StateSophomore | Lafayette, Georgia Simpson, the runner-up in long jump at the 2015 NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships, picked up right where he left off. The sophomore from Lafayette, Georgia soared 25-1.75 (7.66m) to win the CSM Alumni Classic & Multi. Simpson beat his season-opening leap from last season by six inches. DIVISION II WOMEN — Stachia Reuwsaat, Chardon StateJunior | Black Hawk, South Dakota There’s only one woman who qualified for the upcoming NCAA Division II Indoor Track & Field Championships in the long jump so far. That same woman is the only athlete to soar more than 20 feet. She is Reuwsaat, a junior from Black Hawk, South Dakota. Reuwsaat dominated the CSM Alumni Classic & Multi with her leap of 20-8 (6.30m) in the process. DIVISION III MEN — Tim Moses, MessiahJunior | Palmyra, Pennsylvania The regular season belongs to Moses and he proved that this past weekend at the Dickinson Holiday Indoor Invite. Moses, a junior from Palmyra, Pennsylvania, won the pole vault with the second best Division III mark of the season. He cleared 16-8.75 (5.10m) and was the only vaulter left after 14-5.25 (4.40m). DIVISION III WOMEN — Kara Eck, TrineSophomore | Auburn, Indiana For the second consecutive week, Trine dominated the competition in the weight throw. Trine launched the weight 57-3 (17.45m) and won by more than three feet. Last year at this time Trine threw 52-7.5 (16.04m), so it was a huge improvement at this stage of the season. Read the full article at: www.ustfccca.org
|