April 12, 2006

COLUMBIA, SC – Fresh off her school record discus toss of 185′ 9, Charleston native and South Carolina junior Precious Akins has been named the SEC Field Athlete of the Week. It is the furthest throw in the SEC and in the region this year and No. 4 nationally.

The USC women are No. 12 in the latest Trackwire.com poll while the men clock in tied for No. 18 nationally.

Akins won the discus at the Spec Town Relays (Athens, Ga.) with a regional qualifying toss of 185′ 9 on April 8. She also finished as the runner-up in the shot put, bettering her regional qualifier at 48′ 10.

Akins mark in the discus shattered the school record set by former Olympian Dawn Ellerbe in 1997 by more than two feet (183′ 8). Ellerbe was the SEC discus champ in 1996 and the runner-up in 1997.

This is the third straight week that USC has picked up an Athlete of the Week award with track sprinter Shalonda Solomon winning it the past two weeks after posting the top time in the world in the 200m (now No. 4 in the world and No. 1 in the NCAA at 22.77). Going back to indoor season, Solomon had won the award five weeks straight until this week.

OTHER SEC AWARDS:
SEC WOMEN’S TRACK RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Kelly Baptiste, LSU
SEC MEN’S TRACK RUNNER OF THE WEEK – Kelly Willie, LSU
SEC MEN’S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK – Eric Brown, Arkansas