OGDEN, Utah (April 11, 2016) – The Big Sky Conference has selected men’s and women’s Track and Field Athletes of the Week. Both specializing in the 200-meter dash, Northern Arizona’s James Fisher is the men’s Track Athlete of the Week and Weber State’s Aaliyah Crawford claimed the women’s honors. A pair of familiar faces took the field honors, with Eastern Washington’s Kaytlyn Coleman (women) and NAU’s Adam Keenan (men) each picking up their third nod of the season after strong performances in the hammer throw.
Crawford, a freshman from Perris, Calif., set a new freshman record for the Wildcats after winning the 200-meter dash with a time of 23.83 seconds at the Utah Spring Classic. She leads the Big Sky and is the only Big Sky athlete to break 24 seconds in the event this season while ranking in the top 48 of the Division I West Region with that time. Crawford is additionally one of six Big Sky athletes to break 56 seconds in the 400, ranking second in the league with an altitude-adjusted time of 55.18.
Fisher, a junior from Arlington, Texas, broke 21 seconds for the first time in his career with a clocking of 20.82 to take first at the Jim Click Shootout. He leads the Big Sky by nearly half a second with that time while also sitting ninth in the west region and 20th nationally. Fisher has won the last three 200-meter titles in the Big Sky, taking home indoor and outdoor titles in 2015 while coming off another win in the event indoors back in February. Fisher also ran legs on the 4x100 and 4x400 relay teams, which ran conference-leading times of 40.39 and 3:10.74 in Arizona.
Coleman, a senior from Kennewick, Wash., put together a personal best in the hammer throw for the third-straight meet, this time setting a new school and meet record for the Eagles. She won the event at the Pelluer Invitational with a toss of 200 feet, 1 inch (61.0m), surpassing the previous EWU record of 199-8 by Nicole Luckenbach. Coleman moved into the Big Sky record books with that toss, now ranking seventh. She sits ninth in the west region and 19th nationally. She picked up her third Athlete of the Week nod outdoors, matching the three she had indoors for a total of six in 2016.
Keenan, a senior from Victoria, British Columbia, won the hammer throw with a toss of 218-0 (66.45m) at the Jim Click Shootout in Tucson, Ariz. Entering the 2016 outdoor season, only three Big Sky athletes had ever eclipsed 213 feet in the hammer. Keenan has done that in each of his appearances this season, including a pair of throws over 220 feet with the Big Sky record of 227-5 he set in his outdoor debut for NAU. That mark continues to rank eighth in the NCAA.
Other Women’s Track Nominations: Sarah Reiter - Eastern Washington; Andrea Pikes - Idaho; Danielle Rausch - Idaho State; Amanda Jaynes - Montana State; 4x400 relay - Northern Arizona; 4x100 relay - Northern Colorado; 4x100 relay - Portland State; Haley Harris - Southern Utah
Other Women’s Field Nominations: Kolcie Bates - Idaho; Sam Simmons - Idaho State; Lindsey Dahl - Montana; Jessica Weise - Northern Arizona; Alisha Allen - Northern Colorado; Sydney Johnson - Portland State; Lacey Hochhalter - Southern Utah
Other Men’s Track Nominations: Jeremy VanAssche - Eastern Washington; Zion Stuffle - Idaho; Robert Counts - Idaho State; Alex Mustard - Montana; Alex Wesley - Northern Colorado; 4x100 relay - Portland State; George Espino - Southern Utah; Josh Hartford - Weber State
Other Men’s Field Nominations: Joey Payne - Eastern Washington; Arphaxad Carroll - Idaho; Steven Wacker - Idaho State; Lensen Lillquist - Montana; Kyle Douglass - Montana State; Jayson Dupre - Northern Colorado; Tyler Dent - Portland State; Cannon Brunsvik - Southern Utah