April 10, 2012

IRVINE, Calif. - Standout UC Davis runners Sarah Sumpter and Jonathan Peterson, who each broke school records in the 10,000-meter run last Friday night at the Stanford Invitational, have been named Big West Track Athletes of the Week, it was announced by the league on Tuesday afternoon.

Sumpter, a junior from Cloverdale, captured the conference's women's honor for the second time this season after finishing 22nd in the top section of the 10,000 in 33 minutes, 19.77 seconds, breaking Patti Gray's 1983 Aggie record of 33:42.33. The mark, also a PR by more than a minute, ranks her 12th among all NCAA Division I runners.

Sumpter also won the Big West's weekly honor earlier this season after posting a strong mark in the 5,000 in the season-opening Aggie Open.

Peterson, a senior from Clovis who already holds the school record in the 5K, directly followed Sumpter's impressive race by placing 12th in 28:50.45 while racing against an elite field of 10K runners. The time beat Jeff Kaiser's previous school record of 29:26.54 established in 2000.

Like Sumpter, Peterson's time is also ranked nationally, currently sitting fourth among Div. I runners.

Senior Lauren Radke, who cleared 3.85 meters (12-07.50) in the invitational section of the pole vault at Stanford, was among those nomined for the Big West Female Field Athlete of the Award honor which was won by UC Santa Barbara heptathlete Barab Nwaba.

UC Davis, which enjoyed several strong performances last weekend at both the Stanford Invitational and the San Francisco State Distance Carnival, returns to action beginning Thursday with the Mondo Mid-Major Challenge at Sacramento State.