Fitzke, Mettler, Hutton, Spenner Named Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week
Fitzke, Mettler, Hutton, Spenner Named Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week
ELMHURST, Ill. – North Dakota State's Travis Fitzke and South Dakota's Jeff Mettler were named The Summit League's Indoor Track and Field Men's Athletes of the Week, while Oakland's Brittni Hutton and Omaha's Sami Spenner were named The Summit League's Indoor Track and Field Women's Athletes of the Week for their performances Jan. 15-21.
MEN'S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Travis Fitzke, North Dakota State
Sr. // Pierre, S.D.
Fitzke earns his second career Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week award and first of the season after running the 10th-fastest mile in the nation. The senior finished third at the Jack Johnson Classic with a time of 4:06.63. His time ranks first in the league and leads by four seconds.
Jeff Mettler, South Dakota
Jr. // Eureka, S.D.
Mettler captures his first career Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week honor after a runner-up finish in the 3,000 meters at the Jack Johnson Classic. The Eureka, S.D., native clocked a time of 8:20.82, which is a league-best and ranks 16th in the nation. He helped the Coyotes to an overall second-place team finish, only behind Minnesota, ranked eighth in the USTFCCCA preseason poll.
Also nominated: Ramon Nelson, Kansas City; Andrew Stebbins; Oakland; Trent Lusignan, South Dakota State; Glenn Powell, Western Illinois.
Previous winners: Dec. 11 – Casey Orgon, NDSU; Dec. 18 – Niklas Rippon, OU; Jan. 8 – Kris Leverette, UMKC; Jan. 15 – Andy Lillejord, NDSU.
WOMEN'S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Brittni Hutton, Oakland
Sr. // Highland, Mich.
Hutton claims her second career Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the week honor after winning the 5,000 meters at the Mike Lints Alumni Open. The senior won the event with a time of 17:08.09, clocking the 11th-fastest time in the nation and a league-best.
Sami Spenner, Omaha
Jr. // Columbus, Neb.
Spenner garners her third career Athlete of the Week honor and second-straight this season after posting three top-four finishes, including two event wins at the Nebraska Wesleyan Invitational. She won the long jump with a school record mark of 20'2.5" (6.16m), which is a league-best and would rank fifth in the nation, two spots higher than her ranking last week. However, Omaha is not eligible for the NCAA Championships due to Division I transition. She broke the school record by two inches. The Columbus, Neb., native also won the high jump (5'7.25"/1.71m) and finished fourth in the 60-meter hurdles (8.92).
Also nominated: Stephany Johnson, Kansas City; Deborah John, North Dakota State; Megan Glisar, South Dakota; Brooke Garner, South Dakota State.
Previous winners: Dec. 11 – Sami Spenner, UNO; Dec. 18 – Katelynne Hartman, OU; Jan. 8 – Dahila Dyson, UMKC; Jan. 15 – Faith Kruchowski, NDSU & Sami Spenner, UNO.
ABOUT THE SUMMIT LEAGUE
Entering its fourth decade of Division I athletics, The Summit League offers 19 championship sports and has a combined enrollment of over 144,000 at nine universities, four of which are located in top 58 U.S. metro populations (Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City and Omaha). Member institutions include: Fort Wayne (Indiana-Purdue-Fort Wayne), IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis), Kansas City (University of Missouri-Kansas City), North Dakota State University, Oakland University, Omaha (University of Nebraska Omaha), the University of South Dakota, South Dakota State University and Western Illinois University. Previously known as the Mid-Continent Conference, The Summit League rebranded in 2007 and has since produced 54 All-Americans, 37 Academic All-America selections and seven NCAA Championships. For more information about the league and its history, visit www.thesummitleague.org to "See The Summit" or follow on Twitter @thesummitleague.
#thesummitleague
