Villarreal Claims Big Sky Athlete of the Week Award

OGDEN, Utah – Senior thrower Javier Villarreal of Northern Arizona was rewarded for his record-breaking shot put mark in last week’s Lumberjack Invitational by the Big Sky Conference on Tuesday. The Eloy, Ariz., native was named the Big Sky Field Athlete of the Week for his throw of 18.55m (61-10.5).

This is the second-consecutive week that Villarreal has won the award.

In his third attempt of the day, the senior broke the 20-year-old record set by former Lumberjack, Kent Larson (60-6.5) in 1989. Villarreal’s record-breaking throw also gave him an NCAA provisional mark, which means he is now on the NCAA “B” list for the indoor championships.

The Lumberjacks continue the indoor season this Friday at 3:45 p.m. MST, when they host the Friday Night Challenge. The meet is free to the public.