April 24, 2012
IRVINE, Calif. - Junior Emily Bush's record-breaking pole vault performance at the Woody Wilson Classic earned her the Big West Female Field Athlete of the Week award while distance standouts Jonathan Peterson and Sarah Sumpter received conference track honors, it was announced on Tuesday afternoon.
Peterson was selected the Big West Men's Track Athlete of the Week after his school record in the 5,000-meter run at the Mt. SAC Relays while Sumpter received Big West Women's Track Athlete of the Week accolades after her career-best effort in the 5,000 at the same meet.
Sumpter won the award for the third time this season while Peterson captured his second.
Bush, a junior from Orangevale, had a huge PR in the pole vault at the Woody Wilson Classic on Saturday at UC Davis, winning the event with a mark of 4.02 meters (13 feet, 2.25 inches). That broke the school record held by Jennifer Swanson who went 13 feet, 1.50 inches at the Woody Wilson Classic in 2000. It was Bush's best jump by more than nine inches.
It also ranks her first in the Big West, in a tie for 22nd in the NCAA West Region and in a tie for 40th nationally. She began her weekend with a sixth-place finish at Mt. SAC.
Peterson, a senior from Clovis, broke his own school record in the 5,000 while racing in the Olympic Development Elite section at Mt. SAC on Friday. He was timed in 13 minutes, 56.78 seconds, becoming the first Aggie to break the 14-minute barrier. He set the previous UC Davis record of 14:03.25 in 2010 and has the fastest time in the Big West this spring by more than 22 seconds.
He's ranked 28th nationally and 14th in the West Region. It's Peterson's second school record this season, joining the 10,000 mark he set at the Stanford Invitational and which earned him his other Big West honor.
Sumpter, a junior from Cloverdale, was honored for the third time this spring and second time for the 5,000 after a strong performance in the event at Mt. SAC. She led wire-to-wire in her race, was part of a 1-2 UC Davis finish, and was clocked in a career-best time of 16:26.74 that solidified her No. 3 position on the Aggies' all-time list.
Sumpter's time is ranked No. 1 in the Big West and 29th in the West Region. She was honored by the Big West for a standout 5,000 performance at the season-opening Aggie Open and then for breaking a long-standing school record in the 10,000 at the Stanford Invitational earlier this month.
UC Davis will continue its season on Friday, traveling to rival Sacramento State for the Causeway Classic Dual.
