First place finishes led to three Big West Track and Field Athlete of the Week honors for UC Riverside, while Hawai’i senior standout Amanda Alvarez also was recognized for an outstanding performance.
UC Riverside junior Seth Totten (Newhall, Calif./Golden Valley HS) claimed Big West Men's Track Athlete of the Week honors as he finished first in the 3,000 meters at the UC Irvine Spring Break Invitational. Totten raced nearly six seconds faster than the second place finisher, turning in an 8:14.43. The mark also outdistanced the closest Big West competition by nearly 15 seconds.
Highlander teammate Travis Smith (Clovis, Calif./Clovis West HS) notched Big West Men's Field Athlete of the Week accolades as he also secured a first place showing at the UC Irvine Spring Break Invitational. The senior heaved a top mark of 60-3.00 (18.36m) in the shot put for the farthest throw in the Big West this season by more than three feet, and came up just under four inches off the school's all-time record. Smith also competed in the discus and finished fifth with a toss of 171-02 (52.17m). That qualified as the third-best conference mark of the season.
The UC Riverside women also experienced success at the UC Irvine meet with senior Damajeria DuBose (Oakland, Calif./Bishop O'Dowd HS) garnering Big West Women's Track Athlete of the Week recognition. DuBose ran a Big West season-best 2:08.48 in the 800 meters to finish in first place. The mark also positioned her seventh on the UCR all-time performance list. DuBose also anchored the Highlander 4x400 relay team with a 56.3 split, helping her team to a third place finish with a time of 3:46.93. The Highlanders bested five other Big West teams en route to the top three showing.
Hawai’i joined the awards haul as senior Amanda Alvarez (Vancouver, Wash./Seattle Pacific) garnered Big West Women's Field Athlete of the Week honors. She notcheda pair of second place finishes in the long jump and triple jump at the USC Invitational. Her leap of 42-2.25 (12.86m) in the triple jump represented a personal-best and broke the school record in the process. She also turned in an career-best effort of 18-9.75 (5.73m) in the long jump for a runner-up finish. Both of Alvarez's marks rank No. 1 in the Big West, while her triple jump performance places her No. 2 in the West Region and No. 3 nationally based on last week's rankings.
Others nominated (Men's Track): Bryan Luther (Cal State Fullerton); Riley Martin (UC Irvine); Bryce Rausa (UC Santa Barbara)
Others nominated (Men's Field): Jason Harrell (Long Beach State); Albert Hughes (UC Santa Barbara)
Others nominated (Women's Track): Katie Wilson (Cal State Fullerton); Emily Cooper (Long Beach State); Kaulyn Lee-McNeill (UC Irvine); Christine Cooperstein (UC Santa Barbara)
Others nominated (Women's Field): Itos Aikhionbare (UC Irvine); Phoenisha Schuhmeier (UC Riverside); Veronica Gines (UC Santa Barbara)