LOGAN, Utah – Utah State track & field graduate senior Mica Rivera has been named the America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week for the period ending on Sunday, Feb. 26. The award is voted on by a state-wide media panel.
 
The native of Herriman, Utah, placed fourth in the 5,000 meters at the Mountain West Indoor Championships, finishing with a time of 16:21.42. Rivera's time ranks second all-time in the event at USU. Rivera also competed in the 3,000 meters, placing fifth in the with a time of 9:30.84.
 
It is Rivera's third time in her career being named the America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week accolades. She last won the award after winning the 5,000 meters at the Washington Invitational earlier this season. Rivera also previously won the award after placing 14th in the 10,000 meters at the 2022 NCAA West Preliminary Championships in Fayetteville, Arkansas. In her first-career appearance at the West Prelims, Rivera finished with a time of 34:09.64 in the race, which ranks second all-time in the event at USU.
 
Utah State's men placed fifth out of seven teams with 64 points, while the Aggie women finished 10th out of 11 teams with 30 points at the 2023 Mountain West Indoor Championships held last weekend in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Colorado State won the women's championship with 125.50 points, edging out New Mexico by a single point, while Air Force won the men's title with 208 points. 
 
The Aggies earned a total of six podium finishes across the three-day competition. USU's top finish of the weekend came in the men's high jump where junior Kelton Chenworth placed second with a personal-best mark of 2.12 meters (6-11.50). Chenworth's mark is tied for ninth all-time in school history. 
 
USU began the weekend with a pair of third-place finishes in the men's and women's distance medley relay. On the women's side, juniors Hannah Davidson, Olivia Smith and Mattie Geddes, plus senior Abby Jensen, recorded the second-fastest DMR time in school history at 11:33.21. Seniors Devin Pancake, Zack Bell and Christopher Kauffman, plus junior Brennan Benson, finished third with a time of 9:44.03 in the men's DMR, ranking as the third-best time in USU history. 
 
Kauffman also finished third in the men's 800 meters with a time of 1:51.87, earning the third-place finish by a mere four-thousandths of a second. USU's final podium came in the competition's final event in the 4x400-meter relay. The Aggie quartet of seniors Skyler Andam, Zach Meyer and Zack Bell, plus freshman Carter Guiness, placed third with a season-best time of 3:15.16. 
 
Elsewhere on the weekend, junior Mattie Geddes recorded a fifth-place finish in the 800 meters with a time of 2:11.14, ranking as the sixth-best time in the event in Aggie history. Graduate senior Mica Rivera placed fourth in the 5,000 meters, finishing with a time of 16:21.42, the second-fastest time in school history. Junior Peyton Teevens placed seventh overall in the pentathlon with 3,552 points, the best finish by an Aggie in the pentathlon since 2019 and the eighth-best total in the pentathlon in USU history. Teevens also won the 800 meters in the pentathlon with a time of 2:17.94.
 
Utah State's men's and women's track & field teams will begin their respective outdoor seasons on Friday and Saturday, March 24-25 at a pair of meets. USU will compete at the Arizona Invite on Friday and Saturday, March 24-25, and at the Utah Valley Collegiate Invitational on Saturday, March 25. 
 
Fans can follow the Utah State track & field programs at twitter.com/USUTF_XC, on Facebook at USUTrack and on Instagram at instagram.com/USUTF_XC. Aggies fans can also follow the Utah State athletic program at twitter.com/USUAthletics or on Facebook at Utah State University Athletics.
 
Nominees from other sports for USU Student-Athlete of the Week included:
MEN'S BASKETBALL – Junior guard Steven Ashworth (Alpine, Utah) led Utah State to a 65-55 Mountain West win at Wyoming last week. Ashworth led the team with 19 points, seven rebounds and three assists as he shot 4-of-11 from the field, including 1-of-7 from 3-point range, and 10-of-12 from the free throw line.
 
WOMEN'S BASKETBALL – Graduate guard Maria Carvalho (Lisbon, Portugal) averaged 10.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists last week as Utah State lost a pair of Mountain West games at UNLV (86-32) and at New Mexico (111-55). Against the Rebels, Carvalho had four rebounds and one assist, but did not score. And against the Lobos, she scored a team-high 20 points, to go along with nine rebounds and three assists. For the week, Carvalho shot 36.8 percent (7-of-19) from the field, including 14.3 percent (1-of-7) from 3-point range, and 83.3 percent (5-of-6) at the free throw line.
 
GYMNASTICS – Senior Alivia Ostendorf (Ramsey, Minnesota) captured two titles in Utah State's 196.450-195.425 Mountain Rim Gymnastics Conference loss at BYU last weekend. Ostendorf placed first on vault with a personal-best 9.900, which is tied for eighth all-time in school history, and placed first on floor with a 9.900.
 
SOFTBALL – Freshman outfielder Jaden Colunga (Colton, California) helped the Aggies win all three games she appeared in last week at the Grand Canyon Invitational as Utah State defeated South Dakota (8-5) and Montana (9-3, 12-9) and finished with a 3-2 record in the tournament. In game one against the Grizzlies, Colunga drew a walk in her lone appearance at the plate as a pinch hitter. Against the Coyotes, Colunga was 2-for-3 at the plate, including one double, and was hit by a pitch. She scored two runs and had a team-best three RBIs. In game two against Montana, Colunga was again 2-for-3 at the plate, including another double and her first career home run, and was hit by a pitch. She scored two runs and had a team-high three RBIs. For the week, Colunga batted .667 (4-of-6), with two doubles and one homer, while being hit by two pitches and drawing one walk. She scored four runs and had a team-best six RBIs, with a 1.500 slugging and .778 on-base percentage. She also stole one base and had five putouts.
 
MEN'S TENNIS – Senior Bodin Zarkovic (Belgrade, Serbia) posted a combined 4-2 record last week at the Arizona State Invitational as he helped Utah State to a 1-2 record with a 4-2 loss to Loyola Marymount, a 4-2 loss to No. 55 New Mexico and a 4-2 win against Idaho. Against the Lions, Zarkovic teamed with senior David Cierny for a 6-3 win at the first doubles position and fell at No. 2 singles in three sets (5-7, 6-3, 4-6). Against the Lobos, Zarkovic notched a straight-sets win at No. 2 singles (6-1, 6-3) and teamed with Cierny for a 6-1 loss at the first doubles position. And against the Vandals, Zarkovic posted a straight-sets win at No. 2 singles (6-4, 6-1) and teamed with Cierny for a 6-3 win at the first doubles position.
 
WOMEN'S TENNIS – Junior Lisa Küng (Stein am Rhein, Switzerland) posted a 2-0 record last weekend to help Utah State post a 5-2 home win against Idaho. Against the Vandals, Küng posted a straight-sets win at No. 1 singles (6-4, 7-5) and teamed with senior Sidnee Lavatai for a 6-2 win at the second doubles position.
 
MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD – Junior Kelton Chenworth (North Edwards, California) recorded a personal-best mark of 2.12 meters (6-11.50) to place second in the high jump at the Mountain West Indoor Championships. Chenworth's mark is tied for ninth all-time in school history. Chenworth also finished eighth in the long jump with a mark of 6.96 meters (22-10).
 
2022-23 America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week Winners
Aug. 29 – Kylee Stokes, Volleyball
Sept. 5 – Diera Walton, Soccer
Sept. 12 – Shelby Capllonch, Volleyball
Sept. 19 – Whitney Lopez, Soccer
Sept. 26 – Sara Taylor, Soccer
Oct. 3 – Camren Todd, Men's Cross Country
Oct. 10 – Ajani Carter, Football
Oct. 17 – David Cierny, Men's Tennis
Oct. 24 – McKenzie Hunninghake, Soccer
Oct. 31 – Diera Walton, Soccer
Nov. 7 – Connor Coles, Football
Nov. 14 – Ike Larsen, Football
Nov. 21 – Calvin Tyler Jr., Football
Nov. 28 – Shelby Capllonch, Volleyball
Dec. 5 – Maria Carvalho, Women's Basketball
Dec. 12 – Sean Bairstow, Men's Basketball
Dec. 26 – Sean Bairstow, Men's Basketball
Jan. 2 – Dan Akin, Men's Basketball
Jan. 9 – Taylor Funk, Men's Basketball
Jan. 16 – Peyton Teevens, Women's Track & Field
Jan. 23 – Devin Pancake, Men's Track & Field
Jan. 30 – Mica Rivera, Women's Track & Field
Feb. 6 – Steven Ashworth, Men's Basketball
Feb. 12 – Hailey McLean, Softball
Feb. 19 – Max Shulga, Men's Basketball
Feb. 26 – Mica Rivera, Women's Track & Field
 
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