Orgon, Mettler, Duling Earn Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week Honors
Orgon, Mettler, Duling Earn Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week Honors
ELMHURST, Ill. – North Dakota State's Casey Orgon and South Dakota's Jeff Mettler were named The Summit League's Men's Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week, while South Dakota's Alexa Duling was named the Women's Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week for their performances April 23-29.
MEN'S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Casey Orgon, North Dakota State
Sr. // Bemidji, Minn.
Orgon captures the Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week award for the third time this season and of his career after posting a second-place finish in the hammer throw at the Drake Relays. The senior posted a school record mark of 213'02 (64.97m), which leads the league by over 16 feet and ranks 18th in the nation. This is the third time that he has broken the NDSU school record this season.
Jeff Mettler, South Dakota
Jr. // Eureka, S.D.
Mettler collects his second career Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week honor and his second this season after winning the 3,000m steeplechase at the Drake Relays. The Eureka, S.D., native won the race in a school-record and career-best time of 8:51.99, which is atop the league and ranks 19th in the nation. His time leads the league by nearly 30 seconds.
Also nominated: Ryan Cutter, IUPUI; Blake Hocking, Kansas City; Jeff Arirguzo, Oakland; Luke Leischner, South Dakota State.
Previous winners: March 19 – D.C. Okonta, UMKC & Casey Orgon, NDSU; March 26 – Trent Lusignan, SDSU; April 2 – Jeff Mettler, USD; April 9 – Casey Orgon, NDSU & Cody Snyder, USD; April 16 – Ryan Cutter, IUPUI; April 23 – Andy Lillejord, NDSU.
WOMEN'S ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Alexa Duling, South Dakota
Sr. // Gregory, S.D.
Duling garners her first career Outdoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week award after a top-four finish in the 400-meter hurdles at the Drake Relays. The Gregory, S.D., native finished fourth in the 400-meter hurdles with a season-best time of 58.38. Her time marks the fastest league time this season and the 19th-fastest in the nation.
Also nominated: Kaylin Taylor, Fort Wayne; Rachel Zajac, IUPUI; Stephany Johnson, Kansas City; Brittany Page, North Dakota State; Brittni Hutton, Oakland; Katarina Zarudnaya, Omaha; Ashley Odegaard, South Dakota State.
Previous winners: March 19 – Leslie Brost, NDSU; March 26 – Megan Glisar, USD; April 2 – Bethany Buell, USD; April 9 – Leslie Brost, NDSU & Brook Garner, SDSU; April 16 – Brooke Garner, SDSU; April 23 – 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.
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