Western Illinois’ Marshall, Omaha’s Spenner Garner Final Weekly Indoor Track and Field Honors

2/19/2013 12:00:00 AM

ELMHURST, Ill. – Western Illinois' Nathaniel Marshall and Omaha's Sami Spenner were named The Summit League's Indoor Track and Field Men's and Women's Athletes of the Week for their performances Feb. 12-18, marking the final awards of the season.

MEN'S ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Nathaniel Marshall, Western Illinois
Jr. // Bushnell, Ill.
Marshall captures Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week honors for the second time in his career and this season after posting a pair of top-three finishes at the Iowa Invitational. The junior threw a personal-best and league-leading mark of 65'7.5" (20.00m) to win the weight throw, which ranks 22^nd in the nation. He also finished third in the shot put with a mark of 52'0" (15.85m).

Also nominated: Ramon Nelson, Kansas City; Michael Burrus, South Dakota.

Previous winners: Dec. 11 – Casey Orgon, NDSU; Dec. 18 – Niklas Rippon, OU; Jan. 8 – Kris Leverette, UMKC; Jan. 15 – Andy Lillejord, NDSU; Jan. 22 – Travis Fitzke, NDSU & Jeff Mettler, USD; Jan. 29 – Nathaniel Marshall, WIU; Feb. 5 – Jeff Mettler, USD; Feb. 12 – Jeff Mettler, USD.

WOMEN'S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Sami Spenner, Omaha
Jr. // Columbus, Neb.
Spenner earns the Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week award for the second-straight week and the sixth time in her career and this season, topping her previous league record set last week for awards in a season. The Columbus, Neb., native won the triple jump at the Nebraska Tune-Up with a personal-best mark of 42'7.5" (12.99m), which leads the league and would rank eighth in the nation, however Omaha is not eligible for the NCAA Championships due to its Division I transition. The junior also recorded a fifth-place finish in the high jump (5'5"/1.65m) and sixth-place finish in the 200 meters (24.50).

Also nominated: Julie Jeszenszky, Fort Wayne; Dahila Dyson, Kansas City; Paige Stratioti, Bethany Buell, South Dakota; McKenzie Johnson, 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; Jan. 22 – Brittni Hutton, OU & Sami Spenner, UNO; Jan. 29 – Sami Spenner, UNO & Bethany Buell, USD; Feb. 5 – Bethany Buell, USD; Feb. 12 – Sami Spenner, UNO & Bethany Buell, USD.

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.

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