U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association National Athlete of the Week Award - Week #2

New Orleans, LA – After several impressive performances in the sprints and relays at the 2013 Pasadena Games this past Saturday, both redshirt freshman Shaquille Howard and senior Vashti Thomas were each bestowed Division II National Athlete of the Week awards, given by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA).

Howard, a Long Beach Poly High School alum, returned to his roots and was dominant as ever in the 400m dash. He sprinted to a 46.56 mark good for not only the Division lead in the event, but also the No. 2 spot on the 2013 outdoor collegiate performance list. In addition to his performance at 400 meters, he also ran a leg of the school-record 4×100 relay team (41.29) and finished runner-up at 200 meters in 21.66.

Coming off a historic performance at the NCAA DII Indoor Championships a few weekends ago, Thomas (San Jose, CA) is already making her mark on the outdoor record books. At the Pasadena Games she blazed to a collegiate-leading and school-record 12.94 in the 100 hurdles, moving to 3rd on the all-time DII performer list in the event. She became just the fourth woman in DII history to dip under 13 seconds, and the first collegian – regardless of division – to do so this season, leading the country by nearly two-tenths of a second. Her time was about 0.25 of a second away from the all-time collegiate Top 10. She also ran a leg of the school-record 4×100 relay that ran 45.56, currently ranked No. 3 in DII.

This is Thomas' second USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week honor in 2013 and the first in Howard's career.