April 16, 2012

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. - Rhode Island's Trent Baltzell and Charlotte's Joann Blakney were named the Atlantic 10 Conference's Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Performers of the Week, respectively, the league office announced on Monday. Also honored was Duquesne's Alex Gladysiewski, who was named the Men's Rookie of the Week, and Temple's Margo Britton, who was named the Women's Rookie of the Week.

Baltzell, the junior from Sutton, Mass., became the first athlete in Rhode Island school history to score more than 7,000 points in a decathlon as he posted a score of 7,062 points en route to a second-place finish at the UConn Husky Decathlon. Within the decathlon, his best event was the high jump where he recorded a mark of 6'9''.

Blakney put up another strong performance this past weekend at the Sea Ray Relays as she recorded top-five finishes in both the 100-meters (11.57) and 200-meters (24.18). The Charlotte, N.C., native continues to lead the Atlantic 10 in both events.

Gladysiewski, the freshman from Manorville, Pa., shattered the Duquesne school record in the Javelin with a distance of 203' 9'' (62.10 meters) at this past weekend's Bison Outdoor Classic. His new mark bested his previous school record, set on March 24, by almost 15 feet.

For the second consecutive week, York, Pa., native Margo Britton shattered another Temple school record. A week after being named A-10 Rookie of the Week, Britton claimed first-place in the discus throw with a toss of 156' 10'' to shatter the previous school record by more than five feet.