Levy Claims Big 12 Athlete of the Week Honors

IRVING, Texas – Following her NCAA-leading performance at the KU-KSU-WSU Triangular last Friday in Lawrence, Kansas senior thrower Daina Levy was named the Big 12 Track & Field Female Athlete of the Week the conference office announced Wednesday. The honor was the first of Levy’s career and the first KU female to be recognized with a weekly honor since 2014.
 
Levy, a native of Mississauga, Ontario, got her season off to a fast start as the senior posted a personal best and an NCAA-best mark in the weight throw during her first outing of the season last week in Lawrence. Levy topped the 20-meter mark on four of her six attempts, but saved her best for last. On her last trip into the throws ring, already with the event victory in tow, the All-American unleashed a toss of 21.35 meters (70’0½”) to put an exclamation point on her first outing of the year. The throw was not only a personal record by nearly three feet, but shattered the meet record and brought her within 16 inches of the three-year-old school record. The mark was the third-farthest ever achieved by a KU female and made Levy the first DI collegian to top 70 feet in the event this season.
 
Levy’s performance also moved her to the No. 1 spot on the latest NCAA rankings and puts her in prime position to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships in March. A 70-foot throw has qualified its owner for the national meet each year since the current qualifying procedure began.
 
Levy and the rest of her KU teammates will be back in action Jan. 28-29 when they host the Jayhawk Classic in Lawrence. The first four events of the men’s heptathlon will kick off the meet on Thursday with the full slate of events to follow throughout the day Friday.
 
 
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