Georgia Sweeps DI National Athlete of the Week Awards

Georgia Sweeps DI National Athlete of the Week Awards

NEW ORLEANS – The University of Georgia made a clean sweep of Division I and student-athletes from all divisions made impressive gains on their all-time division record books in this week’s U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) National Athlete of the Week awards.

A pair of Georgia freshmen in decathlete Maicel Uibo and Shaunae Miller claimed the DI male and female awards, respectively. Uibo entered the all-time collegiate top 10 with his first collegiate decathlon, while Miller took the collegiate lead at 200 meters following her indoor 400 crown.

Texas A&M-Kingsville high jumper Jeron Robinson and Grand Valley State thrower Sam Lockhart earned the DII male and female awards, respectively, with performances that moved them firmly into the DII all-time top-10 lists.

Franciscan (Ohio) distance runner William Jones and Mount Union sprinter Mary Mahoney are this week’s DIII recipients. Jones ran the second-fastest 10,000 race in DIII history, while Mahoney improved her DIII-best 400 meters time and contributed to a decisive team victory at the All-Ohio DIII Championships.

 

Division I Men

Maicel Uibo, Georgia

Freshman – Combined Events

Uibo (Polba, Estonia) made quite a debut in the collegiate decathlon, posting a score of 8,223 in front of his home crowd at the Georgia Bulldog Decathlon/Heptathlon for the No. 8 wind-legal score in collegiate history and the current world-leader. En route to a score that qualifies him for the IAAF World Championships, Uibo won four of the ten components — discus (161-2/49.14m), long jump (25-8/7.82m), pole vault (16-2¾/4.95m) and the 1500 (4:30.60). His long jump effort is ranked No. 6 among collegians during the 2013 outdoor season.

Honorable Mention:

Diondre Batson, Alabama – Ran a 2013 collegiate-leading 10.06 at 100 meters at the Georgia Spec Towns National Team Invitational.

 

Division I Women

Shaunae Miller, Georgia

Freshman – Sprints

Miller (Nassau, Bahamas), the indoor champion at 400 meters, made a statement at a different distance with a collegiate-leading mark of 22.41w (+3.1m/s) at the Georgia Spec Towns National Team Invitational. She sprinted to nearly a seven-tenths of a second win over a field of SEC, Big Ten and Big East competition as the only sprinter under 23 seconds in the race. She also ran a leg of the 4×100 relay team that won by more than three-quarters of a second in 44.25.

Honorable Mention:

Octavious Freeman, UCF – Ran the fastest collegiate wind-legal 200 of 2013 in 22.57 (+0.1m/s) at the Miami Hurricane Alumni Invitational, along with a leg of the No. 3 4×100 relay team.

Kamaria Brown, Texas A&M – Defeated 2013 collegiate leader Sparkle McKnight and indoor NCAA 400 runner-up Regina George of Arkansas at 400 meters in 52.21 at the John McDonnell Invitational.

Kimberlyn Duncam, LSU – Won the 200 (22.82) by nearly half a second and ran a leg of the winning 4×100 relay team at the LSU Battle on the Bayou.

 

Division II Men

Jeron Robinson, Texas A&M-Kingsville

Sophomore – High Jump

Robinson (Houston, Texas) continues to raise the bar — literally and figuratively — as the 2012-13 track & field season unfolds, this past weekend clearing an impressive 7-5 (2.26m) at the Javelina Twilight, tying him as the No. 7 performer in DII history with three other student-athletes. With his performance, Robinson — the indoor champ —  is ranked No. 4 among all collegians.

Honorable Mention:

Dembele Moussa, Saint Augustine’s – Won the 110 hurdles at the Norfolk State Invitational by .01 second in 13.59 — tying him as the No. 7 performer in division history.

Jeffrey Henderson, Stillman – Won the long jump (25-½/7.63) and finished runner-up at 100 meters (10.29) at the Ole Miss Invitational.

Drew Windle, Ashland – Won the showcase 800 meters at the Tennessee Sea Ray Relays in 1:48.48.

 

Division II Women

Sam Lockhart, Grand Valley State

Senior – Throws

Lockhart (Lansing, Mich.) continued her historic senior campaign with a move into the No. 3 spot in Division II history in the discus, winning the Western Kentucky Hilltopper Invitational with a throw of 188-3 (57.39m) along with shot put and hammer throw titles. She recorded her winning throw on her final attempt after two other marks farther than 180 feet, finishing the weekend as not only the top DIII thrower this season, but also No. 3 among all collegians. She completed her hat trick of titles in the shot put (51-7¾/15.74m) and the hammer throw (187-9/57.24m). She is the DII leader in the discus and shot put, and No. 4 in the hammer throw.

Honorable Mention:

Carly Fehringer, Wayne State (Neb.) – Became No. 5 in DII history in the hammer throw with a winning mark of 206-11 (63.07m) at the Concordia Invitational.

Barbara Szabo, Western State – Moved into a tie for sixth in DII history in the high jump with a winning 6-2¼ (1.89m) at the Colorado Invitational.

Ali Worthen, Seattle Pacific – Posted the No. 9 heptathlon score in DII history with a 5,492 at the Sacramento State Mondo Mid-Major Challenge.

 

Division III Men

William Jones, Franciscan (Ohio)

Senior – Distance

Jones (Green Bay, Wis.) ran the race of his life en route to a 29:11.37 over 10,000 meters at the Bucknell Bison Outdoor Classic — the second-fastest 10,000 meters time in Division III history. He won by nearly five seconds over a field of mostly DI runners, crushing his previous career-best of 30:00.82 set last season. The time ranks No. 12 among all collegians in 2013, and is the fastest by a DIII runner since the collegiate record of 28:48.4 by Dan Mayer of North Central (Ill.) in 1994.

Honorable Mention:

Thurgood Dennis, UW-Eau Claire – ran the seventh-fastest 100 in DIII history at 10.30 (+1.7m/s) at the UW-Platteville Invitational. The mark is the fastest wind-legal mark since 2006. He also won the 200 at 21.40 (+2.4m/s).

David Pless, Bates – Became the ninth DIII man to surpass 60 feet in the shot put with a mark of 60-2 (18.34m) at the MIT Quad. He also won the discus and the hammer throw.

 

Division III Women

Mary Mahoney, Mount Union

Senior – Sprints

Mahoney (Ashtabula, Ohio) flew past her competition at the All-Ohio DIII Championships this past weekend, convincingly winning two individual events and anchoring another relay to lead Mount Union to a nearly 50-point team victory. She posted a DIII-leading 54.73 at 400 meters in a race she won by more than three seconds, and won at 200 by nearly two seconds with a time of 24.33 (+1.1m/s), just shy of her DIII-leading 24.28. She also ran a leg of the 4×100 relay that clocked a 47.91 to win my more than a second.

Honorable Mention:

Melissa Norville, Illinois College – Posted DIII-leading marks in the long jump (20-¼/6.10m) and the triple jump (41-11½/12.79m), along with the No. 2 mark in the 100 hurdles (14.00 +3.9m/s), at the Saint Louis Invitational.

 

ABOUT THE NATIONAL ATHLETE OF THE WEEK AWARD

Awarded to six collegiate track and field and cross country athletes (male and female for each of the three NCAA divisions) each Monday by the USTFCCCA office, the National Athlete of the Week Award will spotlight exceptional performances by student-athletes from around the nation.

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.

Nominations should provide qualitative detail to explain the noteworthiness of the student-athlete’s performance. The manner in which his or her event(s) was won or nearly won; any records (school, conference, collegiate, etc.) broken as a result; the national significance of the time, mark or score; and the credentials of the competition are all pertinent details for quality nominations.

Photos, videos and interviews are also encouraged.

Nominations, which can be competed here, are due each Monday by 12 p.m. EST, and winners will be announced by 4 p.m. EST.