Athlete of the Week - Clara Grandt

The AotW for March 30- April 5th is Clara Grandt. She set a new WVU school record (by a lot) in the 10000m out at Stanford. She ran 33:16, which would have qualified her for the 2008 Olympic Trials last year. She's now been AotW three of the last eight weeks. More importantly, she's now got the Auto-standard for NCAA Outdoors AND she has the A Standard for USATF Nationals. The video above is her race at Stanford, as filmed by Flotrack.org. If you would like to watch Ahna Lewis run her 16:33 5,000m, it is also archived at Flotrack.

Athlete of the Week - Matt Schiffbauer

The AotW for March 23rd-29th is Matt Schiffbauer. Mr. Schiffbauer earns his AotW for his 3:57.05/1:58.49 double at the University of Miami over the weekend, setting PRs in both the 1500m and the 800m. Matt is a University High graduate who runs for Coach Small and the Thundering Herd of Marshall University. "Schiffy" is coming off of a solid fall and continues to make leaps in his training and performances. Best of luck to Mr. Schiffbauer as he continues to crank out PRs this spring.

PHOTO UPDATED: I know the Schiffy MoHawk is all the talk right now and it's nice to have a photo highlighting that slick streamlined look. But I've been sitting on this ER photo for way to long, patienly waiting for a chance to use it for the enjoyment of us all. This picture is after Schiffy's spill at USA Jr. Cross Nationals sporting a nice hospital gown/racing uniform sipping on some Gatorade.

Athlete of the Week - Michael Hardbarger

The AotW for March 16th-22nd is The Michael Hardbarger of Rochester Institute of Technology. Michael ran in the D-III Indoor Track National Championships over the weekend and qualified for the Mile final in 4:12.47. He then finished 7th in a time of 4:11.60, garnering an All-America award. He was named the Empire 8 Conference Men's Track and Field Athlete of the Week for his efforts. The All-America award is the second of his career, following his 5th place finish last outdoor season in the 1500m. Looking onward, the 2009 D-III Outdoor Championships are to be hosted just across the Ohio River in Marietta College, from May 21st-23rd. Ritchie County is rumored to be already mobilizing for the invasion.

Athlete of the Week - Clara Grandt

The Athlete of the Week for March 9th-15th is Clara Grandt. Over the weekend Miss Grandt won the NACAC Senior Women's race while wearing the USA jersey. She won the race by ten seconds and led USA to victory in the team race, defeating the hated Canadians. Clara is a product of Doddridge County High School and currently attends WVU. She runs for the Mountaineers under Sean Cleary. Best of luck to her as she transitions to outdoor track. Also, best of luck to all of the West Virginians out there running in their respective NCAA Championships. Uncle W will have a preview of this weekend's action up on the message board just as soon as he recovers from his sojourn in Sin City.

Athlete of the Week - Michael Hardbarger

The AotW for March 2nd-8th is Michael Hardbarger. Mr. Hardbarger is a senior at Rochester Institute of Technology and earned his AotW via his dominating performance at the NYSCTC Championships. He ran a leg on the winning 4x800m, ran a 4:12 mile and got nipped at the line, then FELL DOWN in the 1000m and still won it in 2:33. He was named Men's Track Athlete of the Meet. He's run the 2nd fastest Division III mile time this season and also may be the fastest runner to ever come out of Ritchie County. (I haven't studied up on my Ritchie County history, so I'm not too sure about that.) If you don't know much about Michael, read up on him here. Best of luck at nationals.