March 1, 2005

LOGAN,Utah- Michael Nielson made history at the Western Athletic Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships in Nampa, Idaho, by becoming Utah State's first WAC 3,000 meters champion. For his efforts, Nielson was named USU Athlete of the Week in a split decision over gymnast Jessica Parenti. A state media panel votes on the weekly award

Nielson, along with first-place finishes by Zach Lloyd in the shot put and Christian Lee in the pole vault, helped lead the Aggies to a second-place finish at their first WAC Championships. USU was in the lead going into the last day of competition before being beat by UTEP.

Nielson, a senior distance runner from Bellevue, Wash., won the 3,000 meters with a time of 8:25.54, just 1.76 seconds in front of second-place finisher Japheth Ng'ojoy from UTEP.

Nielson also finished fourth in the men's one mile run with a personal best time of 4.:13.74, just 3.71 seconds out of first place.

Other Nominees...

Basketball-Spencer Nelson... Led Utah State to a pair of home wins against Long Beach State and UC Irvine last weekend. Against the 49ers, Nelson recorded his league-leading eighth double-double of the year with 16 points and 11 rebounds, to go along with four assists, three steals and just one turnovers. Against the Anteaters, Nelson scored 21 points in just 25 minutes and added five rebounds and five assists, while shooting 7-10 from the field and 7-8 from the free throw line. For the week, Nelson averaged 18.5 points, 8.0 rebounds, 4.5 assists and 2.0 steals, while shooting 68.4 percent from the field and 73.3 percent from the free throw line.

Women's Basketball-Taylor Richards.. Averaged 16.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 3.5 assists in Utah State's two road losses last weekend to Long Beach State (75-59) and UC Irvine (81-74). Richards, a freshman point guard, scored a team-high 13 points and dished-out four assists in USU's loss to Long Beach State on Thursday. She then matched her career-high with 20 points and snared six rebounds against the Anteaters on Saturday.

Women's Tennis-Courtney Anderson... Was the only member of the Utah State team to post a victory against Portland on Saturday afternoon. She won the No. 4 spot against Alyson Tyson 6-7, 6-1, 6-4. Anderson now leads the team in wins, winning five in a row. She hasn't lost a match since her opening match this season against Allison Rainey of the No. 8 Washington Huskies. In doubles play against Portland she teamed with Andrea Barker to play at the No. 2 spot, and lost 8-3.

Men's Tennis-No nomination

Gymnastics-Jessica Parenti... Led Utah State gymnastics to its third straight victory last Friday as the Aggies defeated Boise State 195.450 - 194.200. Parenti, a redshirt sophomore out of Glendora, Calif., competed in the all-around for the first time this season and won the all-around title with a 39.150. She also had season highs on bars (9.775), beam (9.850) and floor (9.875). She finished tied for second on beam and also took second on floor. Her all-around and beam scores were the best scores the Aggies have had on the events this season. Her bars and floor scores were second best for the Aggies this season.

Softball-Quela Henderson-Leonhardt... Went 2-8 at the plate and had 5 RBI in a double-header against Southern Utah. USU won both games. Those two hits were essential. One was a three run home run in a close pitching oriented game. The other was a double that drove in two runs.

Women's Track and Field-Lida Ripplinger... Was one of Utah State's top performers at the WAC Indoor Track and Field Championships. Ripplinger finished second in the 5,000 meters with a time of 17:06.49. She also finished fourth in the 3,000 meters with a time of 9:59.86.

2004-2005 Utah State Athlete of the Week Winners
Sept. 6 - David Danley, Cross Country
Sept. 13 - Lindsay Lauro, Soccer
Sept. 20 - Kindy Peterson, Volleyball
Sept. 27 - Robert Watts, Football
Oct. 4 - Megan Mills, Soccer
Oct. 11 - Nicole Gooch, Soccer
Oct. 18 - Dana Peart, Soccer
Oct. 25 - Amanda Fahnestock, Volleyball
Nov. 1 - Trevor Ball, Cross Country
Nov. 9 - Kevin Robinson, Football
Nov. 15 - Zuzana Cernianska, Volleyball
Nov. 22- Travis Cox, Football
Nov. 30- Christina Zdenek, Women's Basketball
Dec. 7- Nate Harris, Basketball
Dec. 14 - Spencer Nelson, Basketball
Dec. 21 - Spencer Nelson, Basketball
Dec. 28 - None Selected
Jan. 3 - Nate Harris, Basketball
Jan. 10- Jaycee Carroll, Basketball
Jan. 19- Ali Aird, Women's Basketball
Jan. 24- Taylor Richards, Women's Basketball
Feb. 1- Spencer Nelson, Basketball
Feb. 8- Spencer Nelson, Basketball
Feb. 15- Jessica Parenti, Gymnastics
Feb. 22- Ali Aird, Women's Basketball
March 1- Michael Nielson, Men's Track and Field