PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference has announced the first winners of the league’s 2018-19 weekly indoor track and field honors for the week ending December 10.
MALE TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Davon DeMoss * Sr. * Memphis * Jackson, Tenn.
DeMoss was a double winner at the Vanderbilt Open over the weekend, earning first-place finishes in the 60 and 200-meter dashes. His 200m time of 21.24 ranks fourth in the NCAA and leads The American. He clocked a 60m time of 6.79, which ranks second in the league and 11th nationally. DeMoss is the Tigers’ record holder in both of these events, which he set in 2017.
FEMALE TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Naomi Taylor * So. * Houston * Atlanta, Ga.
Taylor captured first place in the 60-meter hurdles at the Reveille Invitational on Saturday. Her time of 8.33 is the second-fastest time in the NCAA this season and ranks just outside of Houston’s all-time top-five hurdle marks. As a freshman in 2017-18, she was a two-time conference runner-up in the 60 and 110-meter hurdles during the indoor and outdoor seasons.
MALE FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Jordan Wesner * Sr. * Memphis * Princeton, Wis.
Wesner, the 2017 American indoor high jump champion, set Memphis’ school record in the event with his nation-leading jump of 2.25 meters (7-4.5) on the way to winning the Vanderbilt Open high jump title. Wesner now holds the Tigers’ indoor and outdoor records in this event. His leap leads the NCAA by 1.5 inches this year and is also the top jump in The American by over six inches. He broke the nearly 30-year-old record, which was set in 1989.
FEMALE FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
Loretta Blaut * Sr. * Cincinnati * Cincinnati, Ohio
Blaut, a three-time All-America high jumper, picks up where she left off last season, collecting her third-career American indoor weekly accolade. Blaut cleared 1.82 meters (5-11.5), winning the high jump at the Hoosier Open. Her jump leads the nation by an inch, as she also recorded the NCAA’s second (1.79m) and sixth-best (1.76m) clearances on her previous attempts in the meet. Blaut is the reigning American indoor and outdoor high jump champion and holds the league’s records in this event.