March 25, 2008

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. -

Wyoming junior Courtney Gougler and New Mexico junior Anthony Fairbanks have been selected as the Mountain West Conference Women's and Men's Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week, respectively.

Recording a lifetime-best performance in her first meet of the outdoor season, Gougler placed second in the discus throw at the March 22 Colorado Potts Invite held in Boulder, Colo. Her personal-best toss of 166'-0.00" (50.60m) automatically qualifies her for the 2008 Midwest Regional meet, which will be held at the end of May in Lincoln, Neb. Gougler's toss ranks second in the league so far this season and sits just outside of the top-five all-time MWC records list. The mark currently ranks fourth in the nation, according to TrackShark.com.

Fairbanks, a native of Albuquerque, N.M., broke the MWC all-time record in the javelin by two and a half feet on March 22, at Arizona State's Baldy Castillo Invitational. Fairbanks recorded a throw of 224'-11.00" (68.55m) on his final attempt to earn second place at the meet. He improved on his previous best mark by over seven feet and just missed New Mexico's 17-year-old school record by five inches. The mark, which is a league-best by 17 feet this season, currently ranks fourth in the nation, according to TrackShark.com, and automatically qualifies Fairbanks for the NCAA Regionals.

This marks Fairbanks' second career weekly honor and Gougler's first.