Nov. 28, 2005

LOGAN, Utah - Football player John Chick has been named the Utah State Athlete of the Week for the period ending Nov. 27, it was announced Monday. The weekly award is voted on by a state media panel.

Chick, a senior defensive end from Gillette, Wyo., helped lead Utah State to a victory over New Mexico State on Saturday. He recorded seven tackles with four for loss, including three sacks in the season-ending 24-21 win.

His three sacks gave him 12.5 on the year, which is the most by an Aggie in a season since 1986. His 1.14 sacks per game leads the WAC and is fifth in the NCAA. He also has 1.73 tackles for loss which leads the WAC and is ninth in the NCAA.

On the season Chick has racked up 48 tackles with 19 for loss. In his career at Utah State he has recorded 163 tackles with 39 for loss. He has also tallied up 23.5 sacks in his time with USU.

Chick has added his name to three different WAC Record lists as his 12.5 sacks were the second most in a season in conference history. With his 19 tackles for loss he is tied for the fourth best season, and his three sacks versus New Mexico State tied him for fourth on the single game charts.

Other USU Athlete of the week nominees included:

Men's Basketball- Cass Matheus... Senior center scored a game-high 20 points to go along with eight rebounds in Utah State's 102-65 win against Lewis & Clark College as he was 10-13 from the field. Matheus also had 13 points and seven rebounds in USU's 60-59 loss at Middle Tennessee. For the week, he averaged 16.5 points and 7.5 rebounds, while shooting 75.0 percent from the field (15-20).

Women's Basketball- Brittany Hagen... Junior forward scored a career-high 18 points on four-of-seven shooting from beyond the arc as Utah State fell to Colorado, 73-56, in the consolation game of the Colorado Coors Classic on Saturday. Hagen also led the Aggies in scoring with 13 points in their loss to Illinois (62-43) in the opening game of the tournament. For the week, she averaged 15.5 points on a 58.3 clip (7-12) from three-point range.

Men's Cross Country- Trever Ball... Senior posted the best finish by an Aggie at the NCAA Cross Country Championships as he was 47th. He was just 1:10 off Simon Bairu of Wisconsin's winning pace of 29:15.9 on the 10,000-meter course. Ball finishes his USU cross country career after earning back-to-back conference athlete of the year honors and just missing All-America honors this year.

Women's Cross Country- Tiffany Strickland... Senior placed 98th in the NCAA Cross Country Championships. This was the best by an Aggie woman since Alisa Nicodemus was 14th in 1992. Strickland, a senior from Orem, Utah, almost reached her goals of the race as she ran a 21:09.0 on the 6,000-meter course.

Volleyball- Zuzana Cernianska... Senior opposite side hitter was named to the Western Athletic Conference all-tournament team as she led Utah State to the championship game of the tournament. In USU's three matches, she had 17 kills against Fresno State, and 16 against both New Mexico State and Hawaii. Overall, Cernianska hit .232 and averaged 4.08 kills, 1.33 digs, and 0.83 blocks per game.

Previous 2005-06 USU Athlete of the Week Winners Aug. 29 - Zuzana Cernianska, Volleyball Sept. 5 - Tiffany Strickland, Cross Country Sept. 12 - Kelsi Peterson, Volleyball Sept. 18 - Zuzana Cernianska, Volleyball Sept. 25 - Tony Pennyman, Football Oct. 3 - Beth Hodge, Volleyball Oct. 10 - Kevin Robinson, Football Oct. 17- Charity Weston, Soccer Oct. 23- Kelli Allred, Soccer Oct. 30- Trever Ball, Cross Country Nov. 6- Erin Graybill, Volleyball Nov. 12- Tiffany Strickland, Cross Country Nov. 20- Dominique Arsenault, Volleyball Nov. 27- John Chick, Football