The four recipients of Big West Track and Field Athlete of the Week accolades hailed from Cal Poly and Long Beach State.
Cal Poly junior Sean McDermott (Kings Beach, Calif./Cuesta College) earned Big West Men’s Track Athlete of the Week honors after winning the 3,000-meter steeplechase at the UCSB Tri-Meet on Saturday at Westmont. He clocked a time of 9:04.67, winning the race by a margin of 8.75 seconds. It was a career-best time for McDermott, as well as the nation’s top steeplechase time so far.
Cal Poly senior Maddie McDonald (Orange, Calif./Rosary HS) also excelled in the 3,000-meter steeplechase to win Big West Women’s Track Athlete of the Week accolades. She finished second at the UCSB Tri-Meet at Westmont with a time of 10:43.60. The performance moved her to No. 3 in school history, ranking her currently No. 2 in the West Region.
Posting three first-place finishes at two different meets, Long Beach State junior Josh Carr (Visalia, Calif./Redwood HS) captured Big West Men’s Field Athlete of the Week accolades. Carr won the hammer throw twice and the discus once in an extremely productive week. At the Ben Brown Invitational, Carr finished second overall – and first among collegians – with a lifetime-best throw of 196-08.25 in the hammer. It was 1.29 meters better than any other throw he has had. The next day, Carr won twice at the San Diego Collegiate Challenge. In wet and rainy conditions, Carr tossed the hammer 186-08 (56.89m) and the discus 164-07 (50.17m). Carr is No. 1 in the Big West and NCAA West Region in the hammer. He is also No. 1 in the Big West and in the NCAA in the discus.
Long Beach State sophomore Erykah McNairy (San Diego, Calif./San Diego HS) posted two first place finishes in the hammer throw to earn Big West Women’s Field Athlete of the Week accolades. She succeeded in posting the top collegiate performance in the hammer at the Ben Brown Invitational with a distance of 174-04 (53.14m), eclipsing her previous personal record by 11 feet, 3 inches. McNairy navigated wet and rainy conditions the next day at the San Diego Collegiate Challenge, finishing tops again in the hammer with a toss of 161-03 (49.16m). The win in San Diego marks the third victory of the season in three meets for McNairy.
Others nominated (Men’s Track): Danny Ramirez (Cal State Fullerton)
Others nominated (Women’s Track): Samantha Huerta (Cal State Fullerton); Jasmine Vasquez (CSUN); Kierra Davis (UC Davis)
Others nominated (Men’s Field): Alvin Sung (Cal State Fullerton); Daniel Swarbrick (CSUN); Steven Childs (UC Davis); Seth Enochs (UC Irvine)
Others nominated (Women’s Field): Caice Lanovaz (Cal Poly); Nicole Clark (Cal State Fullerton)