Two CSUN and two UC Irvine representatives made up the latest list of Big West Track and Field weekly award winners following stellar efforts at the Desert Heat Classic and Steve Scott Invitational.
CSUN freshman Bashiru Abdullahi (Benin City, Nigeria/Auntie Rose Secondary School) improved upon the third fastest 110 meter hurdles time in school history to capture his second straight Big West Men’s Track Athlete of the Week award. He ran the event last week in 13.87 seconds at the Long Beach Intercollegiate. He bettered that performance with a time of 13.82 at the Desert Heat Classic to lower his own personal record. Abdallahi finished in second place while maintaining his No. 1 ranking in the Big West. Abdallhi also ranks in the top 10 in the West Region with that time. In the 400 hurdles, Abdallahi finished in fifth place with a personal-best time of 53.67.
CSUN senior Sydney Mosley (Pasadena, Calif./Arizona State) garnered Big West Women’s Track Athlete of the Week accolades for the second time in three weeks as she set a personal record in the 100 meter hurdles. Posting a time of 13.39 seconds at the Desert Heat Classic, she tied the school record in the event jointly held by Courtney Robinson and Heather Heron. Mosley’s 13.39 was good enough for fifth place.
UC Irvine sophomore Seth Enochs (Yucca Valley, Calif./Yucca Valley HS) boasted a personal-best performance in the long jump to secure Big West Men’s Field Athlete of the Week recognition. He was the top collegiate finisher and overall runner-up at the Steve Scott Invitational, clearing 25-00.75 on his opening mark. The distance ranks fourth in school history and puts him at No. 2 on the Big West performance list and No. 18 in the West Region. Enochs also contributed as well on the track, running 11.28 (-0.4w) in the 100 meters and contributing to the 4x100 relay team’s season-best time of 41.03.
Breaking her own school record in the hammer, UC Irvine senior Barbara Coward (Atwater, Calif./Buhach Colony HS) collected her fourth Big West Women’s Field Athlete of the Week award this season. Coward tied two Big West records this week. Her four Field Athlete of the Week awards equals the most in one season, which UC Santa Barbara Olympian Barbara Nwaba accomplished in 2002. In addition, Coward earned the seventh citation of her career, tying the conference record belonging to UCSB’s Amy Haapenen. Coward recorded an individual victory in the hammer at the Steve Scott Invitational. She entered the finals in sixth place before jumping to first on her fourth attempt where she broke her own school record with a heave of 196-07 (59.92m). Coward continued to impress, matching that mark on her next throw before closing out the day with a toss of 194-10, which also would have won the competition. She is still No. 1 in the Big West and No. 29 in the West Region. She also competed in the discus, and was the top collegiate finisher – third overall – with a mark of 173-03 (52.82m)
Others nominated (Men’s Track): Alex Merder (Cal Poly); Jorge Sanchez (Cal State Fullerton); Brandon Jetter (UC Davis); Tanner Anderson (UC Riverside)
Others nominated (Women’s Track): Ann Caroline Kaseberg (Cal Poly); Gabrielle De La Rosa (Cal State Fullerton); Sadye Peschke (UC Davis); Katie Camarena (UC Santa Barbara)
Others nominated (Men’s Field): Kevin Ward (Cal Poly); Erick Loomis (CSUN); Sebastian Coleman (Long Beach State); Michael Pertusati (UC Davis); John Ober (UC Riverside); Kordell Hampton (UC Santa Barbara)
Others nominated (Women’s Field): Brooke Tjerrild (Cal Poly); Stella Weinberg (CSUN); Amy Bell (Long Beach State); Marlene Gutierrez (UC Davis); Cassidy Peng (UC Santa Barbara); Alexis Brenzil (Hawai‘i)