FRISCO, Texas – The Southeastern Louisiana University track and field team picked up its first Southland Conference weekly award of the outdoor season following its first outdoor meet of the year as Esther Nwanze was named the SLCs Female Athlete of the Week, the conference office announced on Wednesday.
 
Nwanze, a junior from Baton Rouge, la., earned two podium spots while collecting a new personal best on Saturday at the University of Louisiana-Lafayette's Louisiana Classics while also setting herself up to be able to continue competing beyond the Conference Championships after just one meet.
 
She started the day by winning the 400-meter hurdles competition, breaking the tape in a personal best-time of 1:00.80, putting her less than a second away from becoming the first Lady Lion to run a sub-minute in the discipline since Alicia Noel set the current school record of 58.07 at the 2014 Southland Conference Outdoor Championships. After the weekend's competition, Nwanze's time in the 400-meter hurdles is the fastest in both the Southland and the NCAA's South-Central Region while sitting as the 22^nd-fastest time in all of Division I.
 
Nwanze ended the day anchoring Southeastern's 4x400-meter relay team which took home a bronze medal from Lafayette in which she ran the fastest leg, crossing the finish line to stop the Lady Lions' clock at 3:47.23.
 
This is Nwanze's first career Outdoor Athlete of the Week award.
 
Nwanze and the rest of the Lions return to action on Saturday as Southeastern makes the 45-minute drive to Baton Rouge for the Keyth Talley Invitational, hosted by LSU at Bernie Moore Stadium. The day starts on the field with the women's hammer throw kicking things off at 9:30 a.m. while the track events begin at 1 p.m. with the women's 4x400-meter relay.
 
PODIUM CLUB/S CLUB
Fans interested in becoming active supporters of the track and field program are encouraged to join the Podium Club. Lion alums are encouraged to join the exclusive S Club, which is restricted to Southeastern athletic letter winners. All membership fees and donations to Podium Club are available for the exclusive use of the Southeastern track and field program. Membership information is available by contacting the Lion Athletics Association at laa@southeastern.edu or (985) 549-5091 or visiting www.LionUp.com.
 
SOCIAL MEDIA
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