Renner, Lesser, Black Collect #SummitOTF Weekly Honors
Renner, Lesser, Black Collect #SummitOTF Weekly Honors
ELMHURST, Ill. – North Dakota State's Alex Renner and Emily Lesser along with Jazzelena Black of South Dakota State were named The Summit League's Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week for their performances April 6-12.
MEN'S ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Alex Renner, North Dakota State
So. // Watertown, S.D.
Alex Renner gathers his first career Summit League Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week award after his performance at the Husker Spring Invite. The sophomore tacked another 18 inches onto his North Dakota State shot put record, throwing 59-01.50 (18.02) for a runner-up finish and the top mark in The Summit League this season. He then added a career-best throw of 183.5 (55.91m) in the hammer throw to climb to third in The Summit League this season.
Also nominated: Isaac Allen, South Dakota; Colton Bender, South Dakota State; Max Ford, Western Illinois.
Previous honorees: March 24 – Justin Estala, Oral Roberts/Tyler Parker, North Dakota State; March 31 – Cody Snyder, South Dakota; April 7 – Matti Mortimore, North Dakota State.
WOMEN'S ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Emily Lesser, North Dakota State
Sr. // Maple Grove, Minn.
Emily Lesser earns her second Summit League Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week award of her career and second of the season after her performance at the Husker Spring Invite. Lesser threw 59-09.25 (16.08m) in the shot put, extending her NDSU school record by one foot and moving into 13th-place nationally and first in the league in the event. Her toss was two and a half feet better than the runner-up at the invitational. The senior also posted the second-best mark in the hammer throw at the meet with a distance of 187-00 (57.01m), moving her into second place in The Summit League on the season.
Jazzelena Black, South Dakota State
Jr. // Oxnard, Calif.
Jazzelena Black is named Summit League Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week for the first time in her career after her performance at the Jim Duncan Invitational. Black destroyed her previous school record in the triple jump by more than eight inches with a distance of 41-08.75 to earn her second triple jump meet title of the outdoor season. She also equaled her personal record long jump mark of 19-0.75, both marks are best in The Summit League this season. The junior was also part of the first-place 4x100 relay team, claiming their second straight victory.
Also nominated: Jasmine Brown, Western Illinois; Amber Eichkorn, South Dakota; Ashley Kildow, Omaha.
Previous honorees: March 24 – Emily Lesser, North Dakota State; March 31 – Amber Eichkorn, South Dakota/Erin Teschuk, North Dakota State; April 7 – Erin Teschuk, North Dakota State.
ABOUT THE SUMMIT LEAGUE
In its fourth decade of Division I athletics, The Summit League offers 19 championship sports and has a combined enrollment of over 120,000 at nine institutions, including four located in top 60 U.S. metro populations and two land-grant universities. Member institutions include: Denver (University of Denver), Fort Wayne (Indiana University-Purdue University-Fort Wayne), IUPUI (Indiana University-Purdue University-Indianapolis), North Dakota State University, Omaha (University of Nebraska Omaha), Oral Roberts University, 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 eight NCAA Champions along with over 65 All-Americans, 60 Academic All-America selections and numerous former student-athletes competing at the highest professional level. For more information about the league and to "See The Summit", visit www.thesummitleague.org, follow on Twitter @thesummitleague, download The Summit League's Front Row app, and watch the weekly "Inside The Summit League" show at www.thesummitleague.org/itsl.
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