The first weekend of the 2011 outdoor track & field season was a successful one for the Big West as six athletes were awarded with the first set of weekly honors.
On the men's side of things, there was a three-way recipient of the Track Athlete of the Week as Cal Poly's Daniel Gonia, Long Beach State's Chris Sweeney and UC Riverside's Sean Ferrera were honored. The Field Athlete of the Week award went to LBSU's Colin Dunbar.
Gonia, a senior from El Cajon, Calif., ran in the 3000-meter event at the Cal Outdoor Opener, finishing first with a time of 8:20.17. Sweeney, a junior from Mission Viejo, Calif., established a lifetime best in the 400m (48.22) and 200m (22.39) at the Ben Brown Invitational, winning his heat and placing 2nd overall in the 400m. Ferrera, a sophomore from Claremont, Calif., owered his lifetime best to 52.25 winning the 400m hurdle event at the Ben Brown Invitational.
Dunbar, a senior from Santa Barbara, Calif., threw a personal best of 209’8” in the Hammer Throw at the Ben Brown Invitational to finish 3rd behind an NCAA All-American and the DIII National Champion. He improved his lifetime best by 14’5” and his mark is the furthest throw by a Big West Conference athlete since 2006.
The women's awards went to another 49er and a UC Santa Barbara athlete as Amanda Moreno of UCSB won the Track Athlete of the Week, while Long Beach State's Tara Ross came away with the Field Athlete of the Week.
Moreno, a senior from Escalon, Calif., placed first out of 98 runners at the Ben Brown Invitational. She topped the runner up by more than four seconds. Ross, a senior from Mission Viejo, Calif., won the women's javelin at the Ben Brown Invitational with a mark of 158’ 9’’. It is the fifth-best effort on the all-time LBSU list and she placed ahead of her teammate Randi Hicks, a 2010 All-American and Big West champion in the event.
Others Nominated
Men's Track: Nathan Strum, UC Davis; Andre Pinon, UC Santa Barbara
Women's Track: Rebecca Paddack, Cal Poly; Shakina Phillips, Long Beach State; Melanise Chapman, UC Davis
Men's Field: Daniel Erdman, Cal Poly; Ethan Ostrom, UC Davis
Women's Field: Jasmine Pickett, Cal Poly; Chidinma Onyewuenyi, UC Davis; Jean Lightfoot, UC Santa Barbara; Alison Wilder, UC Riverside