ST. LOUIS – Following outstanding performances in their respective events last weekend, Illinois State track and field sophomore Kameesha Smith and junior Jack Anstey have been named Missouri Valley Conference Athletes of the Week, the conference announced Tuesday afternoon.
After a spectacular showing in the women's high jump at the Pacesetter Sports Invitational on Saturday, Smith received the honor of MVC Female Field Athlete of the Week. Anstey earned the title of MVC Male Track Athlete of the Week following a standout performance in the 1,500-meter at the Bryan Clay Invite.
Smith garners the first MVC weekly accolade of her career after posting a breakthrough performance in the high jump competition at Indiana State's Pacesetter Sports Invitational. Smith has excelled in the high jump this season, but she took her success to a whole new level on Saturday, clearing a lifetime personal-best 1.78m (5-10.00) to win the event. Not only does this height rank fourth all-time in ISU track and field history, but it is currently first in the MVC, 13th in the NCAA West Region, and 27th in all of Division I.
The MVC Male Track Athlete of the Week award is nothing new to Anstey, who has now earned this distinction in back-to-back weeks and six times over the course of his already-decorated career. Anstey receives the award this week after capturing the second-fastest 1,500-meter time in Redbird history at the Bryan Clay Invitational in Azusa, California, on Friday.
Racing in a loaded invitational section of the event, Anstey proved once again that he can hang with the best of the best, finishing 17th among 162 of the NCAA's most talented runners with a lifetime personal-best time of 3:42.83. He is quickly closing in on the ISU school record, just missing it by 0.64 seconds. Anstey continues to lead the Valley in two events: the 800-meter and the 1,500-meter. Even more impressive, his 1,500-meter mark ranks 12th in the NCAA West Region and 19th in all of Division I, while his 800-meter time from last weekend's Tennessee Relays (1:48.78) ranks 22nd in the NCAA West Region.
The Illinois State men's and women's track and field teams will be back in action this week when they travel to two separate meets. A small group of student-athletes will head to the coveted Drake Relays on Thursday, April 25, while the majority of the Redbird squad will head to Louisville, Kentucky, for the Lenny Lyles-Clark Wood Invite on April 26-27.
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