PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The American Athletic Conference has announced the winners of the 2019 Outdoor Track and Field Most Outstanding Performance awards, as student-athletes from Cincinnati, Houston, SMU and Wichita State collected honors.
The award is presented to student-athletes who recorded the highest-ranking marks on the NCAA performance list at The American Outdoor Track and Field Championships this season. Houston senior sprinter Mario Burke and SMU junior sprinter Chelsea Francis each won the track award after clocking top-15 times in the 100-meter dash. Cincinnati redshirt senior thrower Annette Echikunwoke and Wichita State redshirt senior multi-events athlete Ben Johnson earned the conference’s field honors. Each athlete’s mark in their respective event ranks within the top 20 on the NCAA’s performance list this season.
MALE TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
MEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK MOST OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE
Mario Burke * Houston * Senior * 100-Meter Dash
Burke posted one of the most impressive performances at The American Outdoor Championships, setting the meet and Cessna Stadium record when he ran a sub-10 100-meter dash with a PR time of 9.95 seconds (wind-aided). Burke is one of two American Athletic Conference sprinters to crack 10 seconds in the 100m. His time ended the regular season ranked No. 2 nationally, as he secured the fourth-straight and fifth overall American 100m title for the Cougars. It marked his third top-three finish in this event at the conference’s outdoor meet. Burke also ran as part of Houston’s first-place 4x100-meter relay team and placed second in the 200-meter dash with a career-best time of 20.41 seconds (wind-aided).
MEN’S OUTDOOR FIELD MOST OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE
Ben Johnson * Wichita State * R-Senior * Decathlon
After earning the conference’s Indoor Field Most Outstanding Performance honor in February, Johnson completes the sweep of the award in 2019, capturing the outdoor accolade with the nation’s 18th-best decathlon score recorded at the conference’s title meet. Johnson punched his ticket to the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships after winning The American’s decathlon competition with a score of 7,413. Johnson’s points total is the second-most recorded at The American Outdoor Championships. He finished top three in all but one decathlon event, winning the shot put (14.15 meters) and pole vault (4.55 meters).
WOMEN’S OUTDOOR TRACK MOST OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE
Chelsea Francis * SMU * Junior * 100-Meter Dash
Francis swept the 100 and 200-meter dashes at the conference’s outdoor championships. She tied The American’s meet record with her PR time of 11.20 seconds (wind-aided) in the 100-meter, which ranks 13th nationally. Francis then won the 200-meter with her time of 23.06 seconds. She finished third in both these races a year ago and reclaimed the 100m title after winning in 2017. Francis also ran as part of the Mustangs’ third-place 4x400-meter quartet.
WOMEN’S OUTDOOR FIELD MOST OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCE
Annette Echikunwoke * Cincinnati * R-Senior * Hammer Throw
After redshirting in 2018, Echikunwoke smashed her own American record in the women’s hammer throw, winning her third conference title in this event. On her first attempt, the All-America thrower bested her own conference mark set three years ago with a distance of 64.51 meters (211' 7"). She then re-set her record on her third attempt and bested the all-time American Athletic Conference mark with her PR distance of 65.41 meters (214' 7"). Her top throw at the meet ranks 13th nationally. Echikunwoke also placed second in the shot put with her distance of 15.50 meters (50' 10.25") and scored in the discus throw with her mark of 47.01 meters (154' 3").