Pac-12 announces outdoor track & field athletes of the week
The Pac-12 Conference outdoor track and field athlete of the week honors for the week of April 24-30:
Men's Track Athlete of the Week
Sam Prakel, Oregon
R-Junior
Versailles, Ohio
Prakel anchored winning relays in the distance medley relay (9:32.61) and 4xMile (16:21.81) at the prestigious Penn Relays, outkicking his fellow competitors in both races en route to earning men's outstanding relay performer of the meet.
ALSO NOMINATED: Michael Norman, USC; Ja'Maun Charles, Washington State
Women's Track Athlete of the Week
Alaysha Johnson, Oregon
R-Sophomore
Houston, Texas
Johnson ran the opening leg of Oregon's winning 4x100 relay, helping the quartet break the Penn Relays record with a time of 42.35 seconds, third-fastest in the NCAA to date this season. She also won the 100-meter hurdles, clocking in at 12.88 despite running into a headwind. Johnson already owns the third-best 100 hurdles time in the country this season at 12.69.
ALSO NOMINATED: Sage Watson, Arizona; Zion Corrales-Nelson, California; Alaysha Johnson, Oregon; Venessa D'Arpino, Oregon State; Anna Cockrell, USC; Grayson Murphy, Utah; Hannah Derby, Washington; Regyn Gaffney, Washington State
Men's Field Athlete of the Week
Aaron Castle, Arizona
Senior
Newport, Wash.
Castle threw a new personal best of 19.63 meters (64' 5") in the shot put for first place at Arizona's Duel in the Desert meet. His throw is the No. 9 mark in the country this season.
ALSO NOMINATED: Kyle Long, Arizona State; Jaak Uudmae, Stanford; Eric Sloan, USC; Brock Eager, Washington State
Women's Field Athlete of the Week
Maggie Ewen, Arizona State
R-Junior
St. Francis, Minn.
With a hammer throw of 72.81 meters (238' 10") at the Duel in the Desert, Ewen broke the Pac-12 and American collegiate record in the discipline for the second time this season, extending her own mark from earlier in 2017. The Bowerman Award Watch List thrower also eclipsed the collegiate dual meet record with a toss that is more than 15-feet beyond the next best in the country this season. The new mark outdistanced her previous record throw of 72.71 set at the Baldy Castillo Invitational in March. Ewen also won the discus (57.31m (188')) and shot put (17.39m (57' 0.75")) at the meet. It is Ewen's third Pac-12 Women's Field Athlete of the Week selection this season.
ALSO NOMINATED: Kindel Bailey, Oregon State; Mackenzie Little, Stanford; Brittany Mann, USC; Kiana Davis, Washington State
Pac-12 in the USTFCCCA rankings
Women's Top 25: #2 Oregon, #5 USC, #15 Stanford, #21 Arizona State, #23 Washington
Oregon and USC held steady at the Nos. 2 and 5 positions, as did Arizona State at No. 21. Stanford fell one spot to No. 15, while Washington climbed one spot to No. 23. The five Pac-12 women's teams in the rankings are second only to the SEC's 11.
Men's Top 25: #8 USC, #12 Oregon, #18 UCLA
Very little movement on the men's side as No. 8 USC (down one), No. 12 Oregon (up one) and No. 18 UCLA (same) all remained within a spot of last week's rankings.
2017 Pac-12 Track & Field Athletes of the Week
Men's Track: March 21 - Ashtyn Davis, CAL; March 28 - Rai Benjamin, UCLA; April 4 - Just'N Thymes, USC; April 11 - Arturo Sotomayor, UCLA; April 18 - Colby Gilbert, WASH; April 25 - Grant Fisher, STAN; May 2 - Sam Prakel, ORE
Women's Track: March 21 - Chelsey Albertson, ASU; March 28 - Deanna Hill, USC; April 4 - Amy-Eloise Neale, WASH; April 11 - Kendall Ellis, USC; April 18 - Raevyn Rogers, ORE; April 25 - Elise Cranny, STAN; May 2 - Alaysha Johnson, ORE
Men's Field: March 21 - Nick Ponzio, USC; March 28 - Brock Eager, WSU; April 4 - Casey Burns, WASH; April 11 - Eric Sloan, USC; April 18 - Eric Sloan, USC; April 25 - Dotun Ogundeji, UCLA; May 2 - Aaron Castle, ARIZ
Women's Field: March 21 - Maggie Ewen, ASU; March 28 - Maggie Ewen, ASU; April 4 - Mackenzie Little, STAN; April 11 - Lisanne Hagens, ARIZ; April 18 - Margaux Jones, USC; April 25 - Lena Giger, STAN; May 2 - Maggie Ewen, ASU