USD’s Nilsen and Spencer; NDSU’s Renner claim #SummitITF Weekly honors

1/17/2017 12:00:00 AM

ELMHURST, ILL. – South Dakota's Chris Nilsen and North Dakota State's Alex Renner were named The Summit League Men's Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week while South Dakota's Samara Spencer earned Women's Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week award for their performances during the week of Jan. 10-16.

CHRIS NILSEN, SOUTH DAKOTA
Fr. // Kansas City, Mo.

Earned his first career Summit League Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week accolade
Won his first career pole vault event with a height of 17' 10.5" (5.45m) at the Hawkeye Challenge in Iowa City, Iowa
Ranks fourth in NCAA Division I and first in The Summit League in the pole vault

ALEX RENNER, NORTH DAKOTA STATE
Sr. // Watertown, S.D.

Garnered his second career Summit League Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week honor
Placed first in the shot put with a distance of 63' 0.25" (19.21m) at The Bison Classic in Fargo, N.D.
Ranks third in NCAA Division I and first in The Summit League in the shot put

Also nominated: Israel Nelson, Oral Roberts; Malachi Adams, Western Illinois

SAMARA SPENCER, SOUTH DAKOTA
Fr. // Spanish Town, Jamaica

Received her first career Summit League Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week award
Placed first in both the long jump (21' 1.25" – 6.43m) and triple jump (40' 7.75" – 12.39m) at the Hawkeye Challenge in Iowa City, Iowa, during her first collegiate competition
Ranks fifth in NCAA Division I and first in The Summit League in the long jump
Owns the League's top mark in the triple jump

Also nominated: Amairany Cruz, IUPUI; Katelyn Weimerskirch, North Dakota State; Stephanie Ahrens, Omaha; Mercy Abire, Oral Roberts; Bo Brasseur, Western Illinois

ABOUT THE SUMMIT LEAGUE
Celebrating its 35^th season 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 80 Academic All-Americans, 75 All-America selections and numerous former student-athletes competing at the highest professional level. For more information about the league, visit www.thesummitleague.org website, follow The Summit League on Twitter @thesummitleague and watch the weekly "Inside The Summit League" show at www.thesummitleague.org/itsl.

#SummitITF