Alex Young, Taylor Yantis Woods Named Outdoor Athletes of the Week
Southland Conference
2017 Southland Outdoor Track & Field Weekly Recap
2017 Southland Outdoor Performance Lists
FRISCO, Texas – Southeastern Louisiana graduate student Alex Young and Abilene Christian senior Taylor Yantis Woods were named Southland Outdoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week, the conference announced Wednesday. Young put on a record-breaking and nation-leading performance in the hammer throw in Miami while Yantis Woods earned her fourth heptathlon win at the Wildcats’ home meet. Southland Conference Athletes of the Week are presented by
UniversalCoin.com. Southland Conference Athletes of the Week are presented by
UniversalCoin.com.
Men’s Athlete of the Week – Alex Young, Southeastern Louisiana
Young earned USTFCCCA Division I National Athlete of the Week honors Tuesday after shattering the school’s record in the hammer throw by 11 feet, 7 inches and winning with a mark of 233-09.00 on his final attempt at the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational. Young’s throw is first in the nation in 2017 by 8-07.00 and came against a field that had six other throws that rank in the top 50 nationally, including three others in the top 20. All five of his throws ranked among the top six in the nation this week. He went on to finish third in the shot put with a mark of 58-01.25, the second-best in the Southland and 33
rd-best nationally this season. He was also 10
th in the discus at 151-08, the conference’s 11
th-best throw.
Honorable Mention: Jeffrey Moore (Sam Houston State), Ryan Cleary (Abilene Christian), Kyrin Tucker (Northwestern State), Daniel Shelton (Houston Baptist)
Women’s Athlete of the Week – Taylor Yantis Woods, Abilene Christian
Senior Taylor Yantis Woods came from behind to win her fourth career heptathlon title with 4,677 points Saturday at the Wes Kittley Invitational. The Phoenix, Ariz. native entered the second day trailing Texas Tech's Rose Njoku by 170 points but quickly made up ground by beating the Red Raider in the long jump and javelin throw. Woods reached a distance of 16-6.00 (5.03m) in the long jump, while Njoku's best was measured at 15-3.25 (4.65m). During the javelin, Woods took the lead for good with a launch of 122-01.00 (37.22m) as Njoku's top throw landed at 104-07 (31.87m). Woods’ score is tops in the Southland Conference and 21
st best in Division I.
Honorable Mention: Ana Moreno (Sam Houston State), Daeshon Gordon (Northwestern State)
Southeastern Louisiana is in Austin this weekend taking part in the Texas Relays from March 29 to April 1. Abilene Christian will next head to San Marcos to compete in the Texas State Bobcat Invitational from March 30 to April 1.
Each school’s sports information director nominates and votes for the athletes of the week, though is not permitted to vote for his or her own student-athlete. To receive honorable mention, an athlete must receive votes from 25 percent of the Southland sports information directors
.
2017 Southland Track & Field Athletes of the Week to Date