DALLAS – UTEP’s Marissa Simpson and Kenneth Talavera lead the league in the 60m hurdles and mile event and were named Female and Male Track Athlete of the Week. Rice’s Elena Siemens and Elian Ahmar earns field honors after placing in the top five in pole vault and shot put. All C-USA weekly awards are presented by Blenders Eyewear.

C-USA Female Track Athlete of the Week - Marissa Simpson, UTEP, So., Kellits, Jamaica
Simpson turned in a great performance as she set her personal best with an 8.12 in the 60-meter hurdles finals at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational. Simpson started the day with a then-personal-best 8.20 in the qualifying round. Her previous best was an 8.23 at the Texas Tech Corky Classic. Simpson’s time (8.12) is third best in program history Simpson’s converted time for altitude (8.14 from an 8.12) ranks no. 1 in C-USA and 18th nationally.
 
C-USA Female Field Athlete of the Week - Elena Siemens, Rice, Jr., Davis, Calif.
Siemens placed third in the pole vault clearing 11'09.75" at the University of Houston. The mark places her at No.7 in Conference USA.
 
C-USA Male Track Athlete of the Week - Kenneth Talavera, UTEP, Sr., Cd. Juárez, Chihuahua, Mexico
Talavera won his third mile event of the season with a personal best 4:06.33 to win his third mile race of the season at the Don Kirby Elite Invitational. He’s a perfect 3-for-3 this season in those events, while winning his fifth career mile overall. Talavera’s converted time for altitude (4:00.97) ranks first in Conference USA heading into this week’s championships.
 
C-USA Male Field Athlete of the Week - Elian Ahmar, Rice, Jr., Glen Burnie, Md.
Ahmar had a strong showing at the University of Houston last Friday, winning the shot put for the third time this season with a season-best throw of 58'01.75. The throw currently ranks first in C-USA and 10th in the DI South-Central region.
 
2023 C-USA Female Track Athlete of the Week
J17          Jessica Lambert, Florida Atlantic
J24          Maya Singletary, Charlotte
J31          Maya Singletary, Charlotte
F7           Maya Singletary, Charlotte
F14         Marissa Simpson, UTEP
 
2023 C-USA Female Field Athlete of the Week
J17         Oreoluwa Adamson, UTSA
J24          KeAyla Dove, North Texas
J31          Erna Gunnarsdottir, Rice
F7           KeAyla Dove, North Texas
F14         Elena Siemens, Rice      
 
 2023 C-USA Male Track Athlete of the Week
J17          Alaba Akintola, Middle Tennessee
J24          Yusuf Mohamud, UTEP
J31          Alaba Akintola, Middle Tennessee
F7           Justin Leaston, Charlotte
F14         Kenneth Talavera, UTEP
 
2023 C-USA Male Field Athlete of the Week
J17          Christiaan Le Roux, UTSA
J24          Alex Slinkman, Rice
J31          Nick Hicks, Rice
F7           Jemuel Miller, UTSA
F14         Elian Ahmar, Rice