USD’s Nilsen and Brigham Sweep #SummitITF Weekly Awards

2/14/2017 12:00:00 AM

ELMHURST, ILL. – South Dakota's Chris Nilsen was named The Summit League Men's Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week while teammate Emily Brigham earned Women's Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week award for their performances during the week of Feb. 7-13.

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

Earned his fifth Summit League Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week award of the season; a League indoor track & field single-season record
Leads in the nation and The Summit League in the pole vault with a first-place height of 18' 8.25" (5.70m) at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.
Tied for 11^th in the world (IAAF) in the pole vault this season
Broke the American U20 indoor pole vault record previously set in 1997

Also nominated: Robert Murphy, IUPUI; Alex Renner, North Dakota State; Justin Estala, Oral Roberts; Zach Koosman, South Dakota State; Malachi Adams, Western Illinois

Previous Recipients: Dec. 6 – Israel Nelson, Oral Roberts; Dec. 13 – Charles Brown, Western Illinois; Jan. 10 – Israel Nelson, Oral Roberts; Jan. 17 – Chris Nilsen, South Dakota / Alex Renner, North Dakota State; Jan. 24 – Chris Nilsen, South Dakota; Jan. 31 – Chris Nilsen, South Dakota, Feb. 7 – Chris Nilsen, South Dakota

EMILY BRIGHAM, SOUTH DAKOTA
Jr. // Shawnee, Kan.

Received her first career Summit League Indoor Track and Field Athlete of the Week honor
Placed first in both the pole vault with a jump of 13' 7.25" (4.15m) at the Tyson Invitational in Fayetteville, Ark.
Tied for 20^th in the nation and ranks first in the League in the pole vault this season
Her pole vault mark is an indoor personal best

Also nominated: Amairany Cruz, IUPUI; Morgan Milbrath, North Dakota State; Alyssa Thavenet, Omaha; Mercy Abire, Oral Roberts; Oksana Covey, South Dakota State; Alyssa Johnson, Western Illinois

Previous Recipients: Dec. 6 – Courtney Pasiowitz, North Dakota State; Dec. 13 – Jasmine Brown, Western Illinois; Jan. 10 – Omega Reese, Oral Roberts; Jan. 17 – Samara Spencer, South Dakota; Jan. 24 – Mercy Abire, Oral Roberts; Jan. 31 – Danielle Waldner, South Dakota; Feb. 7 – Rose Jackson, North Dakota State

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.

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