PacWest Athletes of the Week (Apr. 9) – Women | Men

IRVINE, Calif. – Academy of Art track & field's Yacouba Gnacko and Marie-Jeanne Ourega stood out once again as each made moves into NCAA Division II's top 10 in the long jump at Cal's Brutus Hamilton Invitational en route to earning the title of PacWest Track & Field Athlete of the Week on Tuesday. The awards are for meets from Apr. 1-7.

Competing in the long jump for just the second time this outdoor season, Gnacko came down the runway and launched to a new personal record of 24-9.75 (7.56m) on his fifth attempt at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational on Apr. 6. Bettering the Outdoor Nationals standard by 0.26m, the native of Paris, France put himself eighth in the country while remaining fourth in ART U history in the event. His second place finish bested 30 other jumpers in a field of professional athletes, eight NCAA Division I jumpers, and others.

Earlier in the day at the Apr. 6 Brutus Hamilton Invite on the same runway, Ourega rose to fourth in the nation with her best long jump of the season. The Communications & Media Technologies major spent her fourth attempt going 20-2.5 (6.16m) to improve upon the national standard by 0.32m. An Outdoor Nationals provisional qualifier for the second consecutive meet, Ourega ended first overall out of 18 competitors with 11 of those being NCAA DI jumpers.

This is the third PacWest weekly honor for Gnacko this season (fourth in his career) after he was previously recognized on Mar. 19 and Apr. 2. Ourega was the PacWest Field Athlete of the Week that same Apr. 2, making this her second of 2024 as well as the eighth of her career.