For Immediate Release // Tuesday, April 10, 2012

Contact // Natalia Ciccone (nciccone@pac-12.org)

Pac-12 Outdoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. -- The Pac-12 Conference outdoor track and field athlete of the week honors for the week of April 2-8, 2012:

MenÂ’s Track Athlete of the Week: STEPHEN SAMBU, ARIZONA (Sr., Kaptagat, Kenya). Sambu won the 5,000 meter race at the Stanford Invitational against a field that featured 10 of the top 11 times in the country. Sambu ran a personal-best 13:31.51, also the best time in the country in the event.

WomenÂ’s Track Athlete of the Week: ALEX KOSINSKI, OREGON (Sr., El Dorado Hills, Calif.). Kosinski helped the No. 1 Oregon womenÂ’s squad win the Pepsi Team Invitational by winning the 5,000 meters in a meet-record and nationÂ’s-best 15:36.90. A personal best for Kosinski, shaving off 21 seconds from her previous best, the time was also the fastest 5K by an Oregon runner in 24 years, ranked third on the schoolÂ’s all-time top 10 list and No. 7 in Pac-12 history. It was KosinskiÂ’s first outdoor 5,000 meters in nearly two years. The fifth-year senior missed all of the 2011 outdoor season with a back injury.

MenÂ’s Field Athlete of the Week: CHRIS BENARD, ARIZONA STATE (Sr., Corona, Calif.). Benard opened the outdoor triple jump season with a career outdoor best leap of 16.38m (53-09.00) and a victory in the event at the Sun Angel Classic. The mark was good for third on ASU's all-time best list. It was the first jump of over 53 feet since 2006 and just the second since 1999. The mark also put Benard second on the NCAA descending order list. In addition, Benard won the long jump with a career-best jump of 7.75m (25-05.25) and the fifth-best mark in the nation so far this year.

WomenÂ’s Field Athlete of the Week: BRIGETTA BARRETT, ARIZONA (Jr., Wappingers Falls, N.Y.). The defending NCAA Outdoor Champion, Barrett won the high jump competition on Saturday at the Stanford Invitational with a clearance of 6-4.75 (1.95m), improving her top mark in the country and tying for the fourth-best mark in Pac-12 history. Barrett has jumped over 6-4 in both of her competitions this year, clearing 6-4.25 (1.94m) at the Jim Click Shootout. Barrett is a candidate for the prestigious Bowerman Award, collegiate track and fieldÂ’s top award.

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