Locke & Roesler Headline National Athlete of the Week Selections

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Locke & Roesler Headline National Athlete of the Week Selections
April 21, 2014

NEW ORLEANS – Good things came in pairs – or triples, for that matter – for this week’s collegiate outdoor track & field National Athletes of the Week, announced Monday by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

USTFCCCA NATIONAL ATHLETES OF THE WEEK
Division I Division II Division III
Men:

Dentarius Locke
(Florida State)

Women:

Laura Roesler
(Oregon)
Men:

Kirk Wilson
(Shorter)

Women:

Alicia Nelson
(Adams State)
Men:

Avi Bregman
(Haverford)

Women:

Ashante Little
(Wheaton (Mass.))



Click on the photos for TFRRS profiles.


For Florida State senior Dentarius Locke (Tampa, Fla./Chamberlain HS), his pair of wins at 100 meters and in the 4×100 at the ACC Championships, along with third-place showings at 200 meters and in the 4×400 relay, contributed heavily not only to his Division I Men’s National Athlete of the Week honors but also FSU’s conference title.

The senior won at 100 meters in a season-best 10.16 (+1.0 m/s) after a 10.20 (+0.6 m/s) showing in the prelims. His third-place finish at 200 meters came in a season-best 20.75 (+0.5 m/s). Combined with the two relay performances, Locke was a key force in holding off North Carolina for the team title, 113-110.

Division I Women’s National Athlete of the Week senior Laura Roesler of Oregon (Fargo, N.D./Fargo South HS) may not have doubled at the Mt. SAC Relays this weekend, but her 2:00.54 victory at 800 meters was her second nation-leading performance over the span of the past two weeks after a 2:01.10 in the beginning of April.

After a sub-60 first lap, the senior maneuvered from a traffic jam in the middle of the pack and into the lead with 200 meters to go before shutting the door on the field in the final 100 meters to win by more than half a second. The performance moved her to No. 8 on the all-time collegiate performers list and improved her standing at No. 2 in the world for 2014.

This is her second career award after also winning it during the 2014 indoor season.

Adams State senior Alicia Nelson (Craig, Colo./Moffat County HS) claimed Division II Women’s National Athlete of the Week honors after moving to the top of the DII list not just at 5000 meters at the Mt. SAC Relays but also at 1500 meters at the Beach Invitational – after taking the steeplechase lead earlier in April.

Her 10th-place 16:13.94 showing at Mt. SAC put her atop the 5k list by more than 22 seconds, while her third-place 4:22.70 at Azusa Pacific tops the list by more than two seconds. This is her second career honor after earning it during the 2013 outdoor season.

Division II Men’s National Athlete of the Week Kirk Wilson of Shorter (Phoenix, Ariz./Raymond S. Kellis HS) entered the Peach Belt Championships as the DII leader at 100 and 200 meters, and finished it as a league champion in both events.

The senior won at 200 meters with a new DII-leading time of 20.69 (+1.8 m/s) to win by nearly a third of a second, and took the 100 meters crown in 10.57 (-1.2 m/s). He also ran a leg of the winning 4×100.

Haverford senior Avi Bregman (Nashville, Tenn./University School of Nashville) didn’t follow the same "pairs" theme as the rest of the National Athletes of the Week, but the Division III men’s honoree made up for it with the 10th-fastest 3000-meter steeplechase performance in Division III history.

In the mostly Division I and II field at the Princeton Larry Ellis Invitational, Bregman finished 10th in 8:51.30 to equal the No. 10 spot on the all-time list. The performance was a season-best by nearly 17 seconds and a career-best by more than eight.

Wheaton (Mass.) senior Ashante Little (Seabrook, N.H./Winnacunnet HS) earned Division III Women’s National Athlete of the Week honors behind pair of Division III-leading performances over a quarter of a mile at the Fitchburg State Spring Meet.

Not only did she win the 400-meter hurdles in a career-best 1:00.01 by nearly four seconds, she also took the 400 meters title in an outdoor season’s best 55.84 to take the win by nearly two seconds.

This marks her second time earning the award after also doing so in the 2014 indoor season.

National Athletes of the Week are announced each Monday throughout the season, with male and female awards for all three NCAA Divisions. Nominations are open to the public and can be completed here.


U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association
1100 Poydras Street, Suite 1750
New Orleans, LA 70163

Contact: Kyle Terwillegar
Communications Assistant
kyle@ustfccca.org
(504) 599-8905