Long Beach State, UC Davis and UC Riverside had representatives in the latest edition of the Big West Track and Field of the Week awards.
UC Riverside senior Michael Koger (Gardena, Calif./Mira Costa HS) notched Big West Men’s Track Athlete of the Week honors as he continued to lead the conference in the 400m hurdles. He was the top collegiate finisher (and 4th overall) in the event at the Triton Invitational. His time of 52.19 came up just .41 short of his top mark this season. Koger also ran the second leg for the Highlanders in the 4x400 relay, helping his team to a second place finish in a time of 3:21.09.
Junior Cekarri Nixon (Sacramento, Calif./St. Francis HS) gave UC Davis a Big West Women’s Track Athlete of the Week representative for the sixth time in eight weeks. She competed in three events at the Brutus Hamilton Challenge, placing first in two of them. She ran 53.77 in the 400-meters for first-place, and her time (per TFRRS) ranked No. 1 in the Big West, No. 21 in the West Region and No. 42 nationally. Nixon also helped the Aggie 4x100 relay team capture first place in 45.56. She also came in seventh in the 200-meters in 24.64. The Brutus Hamilton Challenge was the invitational portion of Cal’s two home meets last weekend.
Long Beach State sophomore Conner Rouse (Vista, Calif./Vista HS) posted a top-10 program mark in the pole vault en route to Big West Men’s Field Athlete of the Week accolades. He tied for first place in the Triton Invitational pole vault with a mark of 17-0 (5.18m). That placed him at No. 9 overall on the 49er all-time list. It also is the top performance in the Big West this season while ranking No. 39 in the West Region.
UC Davis junior Katie Barber (Moorpark, Calif./Louisville HS) broke the school record in the pole vault for Big West Women’s Field Athlete of the Week honors. Her fourth place finish at Cal’s Brutus Hamilton Challenge came with a mark of 5-8.75 (1.75m), which eclipsed the previous school record of 5-8.50 set by Liz Berger in 1987. Barber sprang from No. 3 to No. 1 on the Aggies’ career leaders list. In addition, her mark (per TFRRS) ranked No. 2 in the Big West, tied for No. 28 in the West Region and tied for No. 57 nationally.
Others nominated (Men’s Track): Chris Low (Long Beach State); Marcus Johnson (UC Davis)
Others nominated (Women’s Track): Destinee Brown (Cal State Fullerton); Caitlin Turner (Long Beach State)
Others nominated (Men’s Field): Matthew Bender (UC Davis); Ted Hooper (UC Riverside)
Others nominated (Women’s Field): Melanie Samvalian (Long Beach State)