This was Conference Championship Week, and nearly everyone was in action and going all out. There were some truly great efforts this week.

Let’s get to it!

Athletes of the Week

Sprint/hurdle athlete of the week: Deon Lendore, Texas A&M
Lendore ran a world-leading time of 45.15 seconds in the 400 meters in the qualifying round at the SEC Championships, and then followed it up with the world’s second-best time (45.23) in the final. He’s now fifth on the all-time collegiate indoor list, and three of the four ahead of him have Olympic gold medals.

Honorable mention goes to LSU’s Aaron Ernest, who ran a world-leading time of 20.53 to win the 200 meters at the SEC.

Distance athlete of the week: Kennedy Kithuka, Texas Tech
At the Big 12 Championships, Kithuka won the 3000 meters and 5000 meters and anchored the third-place distance medley. In the longer race, he ran 13:41.01 and won by more than 16 seconds, nearly 100 meters, over cross country All-American Girma Mecheso of Oklahoma State.

Honorable mention goes to Indiana’s Zach Mayhew, who ran a very fast double at the Big Ten Championships (7:51.97 and 13:46.04), taking second and first, respectively.

Field event athlete of the week: Marquis Dendy, Florida
At the SEC Championships, Dendy won the long jump and took third in the triple jump. His distance in the long jump, 27′ 1″ (8.25 meters), is a world leader and the best indoor jump by a collegian in nine years. For comparison’s sake, it’s better than 2012 Olympic bronze medalist Will Claye has ever jumped indoors (and barely less than his outdoor PR). If I were to pick a single performance of the week, this would be it.

Honorable mention goes to Indiana’s Derek Drouin, who set a world record for the high jump in a heptathlon or decathlon with a 7′ 6½” (2.30m) clearance at the Big Ten Championships. He completed the heptathlon in third place, with four individual event PRs, and then began the open high jump just ten minutes later.

Division II athlete of the week: Drew Windle, Ashland
Windle won the 800 meters at the GLIAC Championships in 1:48.86, which makes him fourth-fastest in D-II history.

Honorable mention goes to Windle’s teammate, D.J. Duke, who won the GLIAC shot put in a D-II leading distance of 59′ 10½” (18.25 meters).

Division III athlete of the week: Isaac Vazquez, Wisconsin-LaCrosse
At the WIAC Championships (which is to D-III track as the SEC is to D-I), Vazquez won the long jump and the triple jump, both with D-III leading marks. His distance in the former was 24′ 11″ (7.59m), which puts him seventh in D-III history. His distance in the latter, 50′ 9½” (15.48m), also puts him seventh in D-III history.

Honorable mention goes to Thierry Diessongo of CCNY, who won three events at the CUNYAC, and his 60 meter win was in a D-III leading time of 6.77 seconds.

CIS athlete of the week: Taylor Stewart, Western Ontario
Stewart won the long jump at the OUA Championships with a distance of 25′ 2¾” (7.69m), an OUA record and the year’s 19th-best mark among North American collegians.

(There is no NAIA athlete of the week award this week, as their national championship is next week.)

Team of the Week: Arkansas Razorbacks

In virtually every sport, the SEC is the most difficult conference to win, and this is especially true in track and field. That Arkansas dominated the meet, winning it by 35½ points, is mind-boggling.

Team Player: Derek Bredy, Minnesota State-Moorhead
Bredy scored 38 points at the NSIC Championships, winning the 60 and long jump, taking second in the 200, placing third in the triple jump, and leading off the runner-up 4×400 relay.

Fantastic Finish
The Big Ten men’s championship was unbelievably tight, with the top five teams finishing within four points. Going into the 4×400 relay, Wisconsin led Illinois by a tenuous 1½ points–and the Illini had one of the faster relays in the conference and Wisconsin was among the slowest. Illinois was running well enough to pull off a massive upset for the team title…until anchor leg Stephon Pamilton, the individual 400 meter champion, fell and allowed Wisconsin to go by.

Fantastic Finish, Part II
The Heps came down to a single point. Cornell led Princeton by a three points going into the 4×400, meaning that a second-place finish would clinch the title–which they got. Heps (aka the Ivy League) always has a good fan following, as the traditions are long and the rivalries run deep.

The week’s top marks