LSC announces Track & Field weekly honors
Four track and field standouts have been recognized with Lone Star Conference Athlete of the Week honors for meets April 21-May 2. The awards were announced Thursday by league officials.
The weekly awards will continue through the LSC Championships Meet, which is slated for May 4-6 in Commerce, Texas.
LSC Track & Field Athletes of the Week
LSC Men's Track Athlete of the Week
Nicodemus Naimadu, Abilene Christian
Distance, 5-9, 125, Sr., 2VL, Narok, Kenya (Rio Linda HS)
Naimadu repeated as the 3000 meter steeplechase champion
at the Penn Relays Carnival last Thursday, knocking off the top
collegiate steeplechase runner in the nation in the process.
Naimadu turned in the best NCAA Division II time of the season,
turning in a time of 8: 35.55 to win the championship section of
the race at historic Franklin Field. Naimadu -- who won the event
earlier this month at the Texas Relays, and has also won races at
the Stanford Invitational and the TCU Invitational this spring --
beat David Cheromei of Virginia Intermont at the tape as Cheromei
turned in a time of 8:35.91. Thursday's race was one of the
highlights of the first day of the 113th Penn Relays Carnival as it
matched two of the top steeplechase runners in the nation in
Naimadu and his fellow Kenyan countryman, Cheromei. Naimadu's time
Thursday put him atop the Division II list, while Cheromei --
running for NAIA Virginia Intermont -- had the top collegiate time
in the nation entering the race with a time of 8: 34.78 earlier
this month at the Mt. SAC Relays in Walnut, Calif. Cheromei's top
collegiate time is the seventh-best time in the world this year,
while Naimadu's time at the Penn Relays is just outside the top 10
in the world, according to the International Association of
Athletics Federation (IAAF).
LSC Men's Field Athlete of the Week
Davy Manga, Abilene Christian
jumps, 6-2, 180, jr, Tr, Paris, France (Lycee Pierre Menoles
HS)
Manga won the championship flight of the triple jump
Saturday at the 113th Penn Relays Carnival, posting the top mark in
NCAA Division II track and field this season. Manga won the event
at historic Franklin Field with a season-best mark of 53-11.75,
more than one foot ahead of the mark of 52-8.25 posted by runner-up
Samyr Laine of Texas.
LSC Women's Track Athlete of the Week
Raquel Tidwell, Texas A&M-Kingsville
Fr., Katy (Cinco Ranch)
Tidwell surpassed the NCAA provisional qualifying mark in
the 800-meter dash by running a season-best time of 2:13.93 at the
Rice Twilight Meet in Houston. She also broke the school record in
the 800-meter dash, breaking a mark that had stood since 1979. She
finished third in the race, being beat by runners from Rice and
Texas A&M-Corpus Christi while beating runners from Texas
A&M, Stephen F. Austin, Rice, Texas State and Texas
A&M-Corpus Christi.
LSC Women's Field Co-Athletes of the Week
Angie Aguilar, Abilene Christian
pole vault, 5-4, sr, 3VL, Midland, Texas (Midland Christian HS)
Aguilar repeated as the women's champion in the vault at
the Drake Relays with a mark of 13-3.50, tying her season-best mark
that she set earlier in the outdoor season at the UTEP Springtime
Invitational in El Paso.
Kendra Lilly, Texas A&M-Kingsville
Sr., Hawthorne, Calif.
Lilly improved on her NCAA provisional qualifying marks in
both the shot and discus by have a season-best effort of 47-5 in
the shot put and 153-8 in the discus at the Rice Twilight Meet in
Houston. She finished third in both the shot and discus, only being
beat by throwers from Texas A&M and Texas State. She was the
only Division II thrower in the field and beat throwers from Texas
A&M, Stephen F. Austin, Rice and Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
Kendra Lilly also broke the school record in the shot put.
LSC Track & Field Notes
• This week's awards mark the sixth of the 2007 spring season for LSC track and field. The weekly honors will be presented throughout the spring as the league teams prepare for the LSC Championships Meet on May 4-6 in Commerce, Texas.
- ENMU's Jeremy Thompson ran a 48.10 in the 400 meters on 4/28/07
at the Don Kirby Memorial Invite at the University of New Mexico.
This was his career best, breaking his old personal record (49.92)
by over a second. He won his heat and placed third overall in the
event.
- TAMUK's Rene Garcia won the 400-meter dash at the Rice Twilight
Invitational in Houston, improving on his NCAA provisional
qualifying mark by running a season-best time of 47.81. He beat
three runners from Texas A&M in winning the race.
- ENMU's Steven Aragon threw 190-02 ft in the javelin throw on
4/28/07 at the Don Kirby Memorial Invite at the University of New
Mexico. This was the second time this year that Steven threw over a
190 ft. He placed second overall in the event.
- ENMU's Kenyatta Carter jumped a 47-00.75 ft in the triple jump
on 4/28/07 at the Don Kirby Memorial Invite at the University of
New Mexico. This was his career best, breaking his old personal
record (45-09.75 ft) by over a foot. He won his heat and placed
second overall in the event.
- TAMUK's Abel Garcia crept closer to the NCAA provisional qualifying mark in the discus by throwing a season best of 158-4 at the Rice Twilight Invitational in Houston.
