All four Big West Track and Field Athlete of the Week winners earned first-place finishes at their respective meets.
UC Santa Barbara junior Shyan Vaziri (San Diego, Calif./Scripps Ranch HS) ran a personal-best 3:44.62 at the UC Riverside Spring Classic for first-place honors and the Big West Men’s Track Athlete of the Week award. It currently sits No. 6 nationally on the NCAA Outdoor Performance list. He opened with a 59.8 first lap and closed with a sizzling 58 second final lap.
For the third time this outdoor season, UC Davis junior Ashley Marshall (Moreno Valley, Calif./Rancho Verde HS) is the Big West Women’s Track and Field Athlete of the Week. The sprinter turned in a productive effort at the Bobcat Invitational at Texas State. Marshall finished third in a wind-aided (+3.3) time of 11.32 seconds in the 100 meters and clocked a 23.75 to place second in the 200 meters. She then ran the second leg of her team’s 4x100 relay winning time of 45.50. Marshall’s 100 time is ranked No. 1 by TFRRS in the Big West, No. 4 in the West Region and No. 6 nationally. The season-best relay time for the Aggies ranks No. 4 in the Big West and No. 17 in the West Region.
The Big West Men’s Field Athlete of the Week award went to UC Riverside senior Ted Hooper (Arcadia, Calif./Arcadia HS). The 2013 Second Team All-American captured the long jump title at the UC Riverside Spring Classic with a leap of 25-3.50. It represented the top mark in the Big West this season, and the third-best in the country, while just four-and-a-half inches off of his school record of 25-8.00.
UC Riverside swept the field awards as sophomore Phoenisha Schuhmeier (Elk Grove, Calif./Monterey Trail HS) was selected Big West Women’s Field Athlete of the Week. Schuhmeier cleared 20-1.50 in the long jump for first place at the UCR Spring Classic, securing the No. 17 mark on the TFRRS national list. Schuhmeier’s mark also eclipses her nearest Big West competitor by 10 inches.
Others nominated (Men’s Track): David Williams (Cal Poly); Daniel York-Mouton (Cal State Fullerton); Kaio Sena (UC Davis); Isaiah Thompson (UC Irvine); Michael Koger (UC Riverside)
Others nominated (Men’s Field): Ricky Strehlow (Cal Poly); Stephen Brown (UC Irvine); Albert Hughes (UC Santa Barbara)
Others nominated (Women’s Track): Ashley Windsor (Cal Poly); Destinee Brown (Cal State Fullerton); Ericka Nowell (UC Irvine); Faith Makau (UC Riverside)
Others nominated (Women’s Field): Danielle Bryan (Cal Poly); Itos Aikhionbare (UC Irvine); Mel Rake (UC Santa Barbara)