Representatives from four different schools made up the first edition of Big West Track and Field Athlete of the Week awards for the 2014 outdoor season.
UC Santa Barbara junior Shyan Vaziri (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch HS) captured Big West Men’s Track Athlete of the Week honors. He swept the 800 meters and 1,500 meters with meet record performances at the All Cal Challenge Cup hosted by UC San Diego. Vaziri won the 800m in 1:52.20 and 1,500m in 3:46.74, using a 56 second third lap burst to cruise to victory. His time in the 1,500 broke the meet record by three seconds.
UC Davis junior All-American Ashley Marshall (Moreno Valley, Calif./Rancho Verde HS) delivered at the Cal Opener to help her earn Big West Women’s Track Athlete of the Week accolades. Marshall finished top three in three events, including being a part of the 4x400 winning group that ran 3:46.14. She also posted a runner-up finish in the 200 meters (23.96) and came in third in the 100 meters (11.68).
Jason Harrell (Los Angeles, Calif./El Camino College) helped Long Beach State win the Riverside City College Quadrangular meet en route to Big West Men’s Field Athlete of the Week kudos. The senior won the discus with a throw of 177-01, which ranks as the No. 1 performance in the Big West by 11 feet and places him at No. 4 nationally. The toss was just shy of his 2013 Big West leading and NCAA preliminary round mark of 180-05.
UC Irvine junior Itos Aikhionbare (Pasadena, Calif./La Salle HS) won two events at the All-UC Meet to claim Big West Women’s Field Athlete of the Week. She set a meet record with a discus throw of 165-3 and also captured first place with a shot put mark of 49-1.
Others nominated (Men’s Track): Daltonn Hall (Cal State Fullerton); Cameron Glasgow (Long Beach State); Alex Grigoriev (UC Davis)
Others nominated (Men’s Field): Maurice Spikes (UC Davis); Stephen Brown (UC Irvine); Albert Hughes (UC Santa Barbara)
Others nominated (Women’s Track): Ana Valdovinos (Cal State Fullerton); Amber Clark (Long Beach State); Faith Makau (UC Riverside); Hallie Brauner (UC Santa Barbara)
Others nominated (Women’s Field): Fatima Vergara (Long Beach State); Katie Barber (UC Davis); Jessica Emde (UC Santa Barbara)