Three of the four Big West Track and Field Athlete of the Week recipients posted marks that landed in the top-20 nationally.
Cal Poly senior Swarnjit Boyal (Yuba City, Calif./River Valley HS) captured his first career Big West Men’s Track Athlete of the Week award with an impressive performance at the Stanford Invitational. He finished runner-up in the 10,000 meters, clocking a time of 29:05.54. Boyal finished just 2.57 seconds behind Adams State’s Sydney Gidabuday for first place, and ahead of third place finisher Tanner Anderson of Oregon, an All-American for the Ducks last spring. Boyal’s time moved him up to No. 10 in the West Region and No. 16 in the NCAA. In addition, he jumped from No. 9 to No. 5 on the Cal Poly all-time list.
Making an immediate impact on the CSUN program, freshman De’Andreah Young (Miami, Fla./Miami Northwestern Senior HS) claimed her first career Big West Women’s Track Athlete of the Week award thanks to her debut effort in the 400-meter hurdles. Young ran a sizzling 58.15 to win the event at the Stanford Invitational – the third fastest time in school history. Young also posted the No. 10 time in Division I this season.
UC Davis junior Steven Childs (Canyon Country, Calif./Canyon HS) earned his second Big West Men’s Field Athlete of the Week award this season as he finished first in the long jump at the Titan Team Challenge. He obliterated his previous personal best of 24-09.00 (7.45m) set earlier this year at the Sacramento State Hornet Invitational, clearing 25-05.25 (7.75m). The mark placed him No. 14 in the NCAA this season, and he leads all Big West competitors by more than eight inches. Childs is now No. 2 all-time at UC Davis in the event. Childs also competed in a couple of track events, finishing fifth in the 100-meter dash in 10.79 seconds, and he helped the 4x100 meter relay team come in second (40.89). The 4x100 relay time ranks fourth in Aggie history.
Cal State Fullerton sophomore Naiah Boardingham (Los Angeles, Calif./El Camino Real HS) garnered Big West Women’s Field Athlete of the Week honors as she won a long jump competition for the second straight meet. Boardingham, who jumped 19-08.75 to win the UCR Spring Break Classic a week ago, cleared 19 feet, 7 inches on her home turf at the Titan Team Challenge. Boardingham ranks No. 2 in the Big West in the long jump. She also competed in three track events, coming in fifth in the 100-meters (11.99), third in the 200-meters (24.37) and third in the 4x100 meter relay (46.76). She is CSF’s leader in the 100m, 200m and long jump this season.
Others nominated (Men’s Track): Thaddeus Smith (Cal State Fullerton); Parker Caston Jr. (CSUN); Kent Harris (Long Beach State); Brandon Lucas (UC Irvine); Patrick Bourke (UC Santa Barbara)
Others nominated (Women’s Track): Molly Ross (Cal Poly); Samantha Huerta (Cal State Fullerton); Shalee Reynolds (Long Beach State); Kierra Davis (UC Davis); Weslie Pearce (UC Riverside); Jenna Hinkle (UC Santa Barbara)
Others nominated (Men’s Field): Anthony Applequist (Cal State Fullerton); Logan Cantrell (CSUN); Jason Smith (Long Beach State); Ondrej Rapp (UC Riverside); Kordell Hampton (UC Santa Barbara)
Others nominated (Women’s Field): Brooke Tjerrild (Cal Poly); Gardenia Centenaro (CSUN); Bria Palmer (Long Beach State); Kayla Thayer (UC Santa Barbara); Lily Lowe (Hawai‘i)