After setting a school record in the 5000 meter run and moving to the top of the conference performance list in that event, Erik Barkhaus (Whitefish Bay, Wis.) has been named the Great West Conference Male Track & Field Athlete of the Week, announced Friday by the league office.
Barkhaus posted a time of 14:42.52, breaking the old school record by over five seconds, at the Husky Classic last Friday at Dempsey Indoor. He won his section of the 5000 meter run by outkicking Isaiah Bragg of Air Force to finish ahead of him by just 6/100ths of a second. Barkhaus also defeated runners from schools such as Washington, Colorado, Colorado State, Kentucky, Portland, Eastern Washington, and Utah Valley.
Besides posting the fastest time in the 5000 meter run among the Great West schools so far in the indoor season, Barkhaus also has the sixth-fastest time in the 3000 meter run heading into the conference championships next weekend in Sterling, Ill. He finished seventh in the 5000 meter run and ninth in the 3000 meter run at last year's Great West Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships.
"Erik has his sights set on accomplishing big things," Seattle U head coach Trisha Steidl said. "Not only is he talking about it, but he's walking the talk as well. It's great to see things coming together so well at this point in the season."
The 2012 Great West Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships will be held at the Westwood Fitness and Sports Complex in Sterling, Ill., next Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 25-26. The action on the first day is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. local time, while the second day's activities will start at 8:00 a.m. Central time.