Pac-12 announces outdoor track & field athletes of the week

The Pac-12 Conference outdoor track and field athlete of the week honors for the week of April 1-7:

Men's Track Athlete of the Week
Joe Klecker, Colorado
Senior
Minnetonka, Minn.

The Buffaloes’ junior placed first in the 1,500-meter run at the Colorado Invitational with an altitude converted time of 3:39.75, the best time in the nation by more than two seconds. The time would've ranked 10th in the NCAA at the end of the season last year. The next closest time on the national list before this weekend was 3:42.53. Klecker is a biochemistry major with a minor in ecology and evolutionary biology and carries a 3.6 grade-point average. He was recognized on both the MPSF and USTFCCCA All-Academic Teams in 2017.

ALSO NOMINATED: Carlos Villareal, ARIZONA; Paramveer Chohan, CALIFORNIA; Steven Fahy, STANFORD; Cameron Samuel, USC; Kemuel Santana, WASHINGTON; Paul Ryan, WASHINGTON STATE.

Women's Track Athlete of the Week
Chanel Brissett, USC
Sophomore
Philadelphia, Pa.

One of the Pac-12's five women on The Bowerman watch list, Brissett won the 100-meter hurdles at the Jim Click Shootout with an NCAA-leading time of 12.87. The communications major and reigning Pac-12 100 hurdles champion also posted a wind-legal personal best of 11.65 in the 100-meter dash to place fifth.

ALSO NOMINATED: Zion Corrales Nelson, CALIFORNIA; Susan Ejore, OREGON; Tarisa Olinski, OREGON STATE; Jessica Lawson, STANFORD; Darhian Mills, WASHINGTON; Regyn Gaffney, WASHINGTON STATE.

Men's Field Athlete of the Week
Jordan Geist, Arizona
Sophomore
Saxonburg, Pa.

Geist won all three events he competed in at the Jim Click Shootout, setting two outdoor personal bests and a school record en route to Male Athlete of the Meet honors. He earned Arizona its first program USTFCCCA Division I National Athlete of the Week honor during the outdoor season. Pac-12 student-athletes have won five of the eight Division I USTFCCCA weekly awards this season. Last year’s Pac-12 Freshman of the Year started the day with a PR and victory in the hammer throw with a toss of 67.40 meters (221-1), which ranks 15th in the NCAA and third in the Conference. He went on to win the discus with a mark of 53.16 meters (174-5). He finished out the night with an outdoor PR and Arizona school record in the shot put with a throw of 21.28 meters (69-9.75), the best mark in the NCAA this season. The sophomore majoring in business management has now won four Pac-12 Field Athlete of the Week honors with three during his rookie season.

ALSO NOMINATED: Tuomas Kaukolahti, CALIFORNIA; Liam Christensen, STANFORD; Michael Gonzalez, USC; Chase Smith, WASHINGTON; Brock Eager, WASHINGTON STATE.

Women's Field Athlete of the Week
Mackenzie Little, Stanford
Senior
Sydney, Australia

Also named a USTFCCCA Division I National Athlete of the Week Little extended her NCAA-lead in the javelin, unleashing a toss of 59.47 meters (195-1) in the Big Meet, the second-longest throw of her career and a top-20 mark in collegiate history. With her USTFCCCA honor, the Pac-12 has claimed all four women's weekly honors this season. Going back to her NCAA-winning throw of last year, Little has reached 190 feet in her past four meets, including three times this year, while no other collegian in the country has reached that mark even once. Little broke her own year-old meet record of 58.63 meters (192-4) in Stanford's Big Meet rivalry against California, and sparked the Cardinal to its fifth consecutive victory in the series. Though she has never competed in the shot put as a collegian, she did so Saturday in an effort to gain points, and finished fifth. The senior studying human biology with a 3.6 grade-point average is a three-time All-American, three-time defending Pac-12 javelin champion and currently on the watch list for The Bowerman. It is her third career Pac-12 Field Athlete of the Week accolade.

ALSO NOMINATED: Camryn Rogers, CALIFORNIA; Keely McLaughlin, OREGON STATE; Isabella Marten, USC; Emmy Engle, WASHINGTON; Chrisshnay Brown, WASHINGTON STATE.

Pac-12 in the USTFCCCA National Rankings (April 8)

Men's Top 25: #7 Oregon, #14 Arizona, #15 Stanford, #25 UCLA

The Pac-12 maintained four teams in the Week 2 men's poll, with Arizona and Stanford jumping four spots apiece, while California climbed 19 positions to No. 29 thanks to a victory over the Cardinal in the Big Meet.

Women's Top 25: #1 USC, #4 Oregon, #14 Stanford, #15 Colorado, #18 Washington, #22 UCLA

Arizona State nearly became the seventh Pac-12 program in the women's top 25 with its strong performances at the Sun Angel Classic. The Sun Devils checked in at No. 27 this week.

Pac-12 USTFCCCA National Athletes of the Week

Mackenzie Little, STANFORD - March 19
Beatrice Llano, ARIZONA STATE - March 26
Olivia Gruver, WASHINGTON - April 2
Mackenzie Little, STANFORD; Jordan Geist, ARIZONA - April 9

Pac-12 on The Bowerman Watch List

Men's Post-Indoor: Grant Fisher, STANFORD.

Women's Post-Indoor: Jessica Hull, OREGON; Mackenzie Little, STANFORD; Chanel Brissett, USC; Kaelin Roberts, USC; Olivia Gruver, WASHINGTON.

2019 Pac-12 Track & Field Athletes of the Week