Brennan Benson Named America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week

General 2/26/2024 11:33:00 AM

LOGAN, Utah — Utah State track & field junior Brennan Benson has been named the America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week for the period ending on Sunday, Feb. 25. The award is voted on by a state-wide media panel.

With its sponsorship of the Student-Athlete of the Week, America First Credit Union donates funds directly to support student-athlete scholarships.

Benson, a native of Orem, Utah, won two titles at the Mountain West Indoor Championships, held last weekend in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as he helped the Aggies to a fourth-place team finish with 94 points. Benson won the mile with a time of 4:11.48 and was a member of the distance medley relay team that finished first with a time of 10:07.76. Benson was also part of the 4x400-meter relay team that placed fifth with a time of 3:15.63.

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 – Graduate senior guard Darius Brown II (Pasadena, California) led the Aggies to a 68-63 Mountain West home win against No. 19 San Diego State last week. It marked the third time in program history USU has defeated multiple ranked teams in a season. Brown scored a season-best 25 points, while adding four rebounds and two assists. He shot 61.5 percent (8-of-13) from the field, 55.6 percent (5-of-9) from deep and 100 percent (4-of-4) at the free throw line.

WOMEN'S BASKETBALL – Junior guard/forward Samiana Suguturaga (Orem, Utah) helped Utah State to a 1-1 Mountain West record with a 71-70 win at San José State and a 90-68 home loss to Colorado State. She scored 10 points against the Spartans, including the game-winning 3-pointer, while adding eight rebounds, three blocks and three steals. She followed that performance by scoring six points, to go along with two boards and a steal against the Rams. For the week, she averaged 8.0 points, 5.0 rebounds, 1.5 blocks and 2.0 steals per contest, while shooting 42.6 percent (6-of-14) from the floor, 100.0 percent (2-of-2) from 3-point range and 100.0 percent (2-of-2) from the free throw line.

GOLF – Senior John Cook (Agoura Hills, California) posted a 2-1 record at the Wyoming Match Play Championships, held last week in Indian Wells, California, as the Aggies lost matches to Colorado (4-1-1), Pacific (4-1-1) and UC Santa Barbara (4-2). Cook lost his first match 4&3 to Colorado and then posted a 4&2 win against Pacific. Cook then concluded the tournament with a 4&3 win against UC Santa Barbara.

GYMNASTICS – Senior Brianna Brooks (Las Vegas, Nevada) won the all-around with a season-high 39.225 in helping Utah State to a second-place team finish in a quad meet with Boise State, Iowa State and Texas Woman's last weekend as the Aggies tied their season high with a 196.275. Brooks tied for third on bars with a 9.875, placed fourth on vault with a season-high 9.850, tied for 10th on beam with a 9.825 and scored a 9.675 on floor.

MEN'S TENNIS – Senior Bodin Zarkovic (Belgrade, Serbia) posted a combined 2-0 record last week in helping Utah State to a 5-2 home win against Idaho State. Against the Bengals, Zarkovic posted a three-sets win at No. 1 singles (6-2, 5-7, 6-2) and teamed with freshman Stefan Vedovelli for a 6-2 win at the first doubles position.

WOMEN'S TENNIS – Senior Laura Fernanda Eugenio De Hilario (Tijuana, Mexico) posted a combined 2-2 record last week as Utah State lost 4-3 at Idaho and 6-1 at Gonzaga. Against the Vandals, Hilario posted a straight sets win at No. 3 singles (6-1, 6-4) and team with graduate senior Zeynep Naz Ozturk for a 6-2 loss at the first doubles position. Against the Bulldogs, she posted a straight sets win at No. 3 singles (7-6 (6), 2-1, retired) and teamed with Ozturk for a 6-0 loss at the second doubles position.

SOFTBALL – Junior infielder Giselle Gonzalez (San Diego, California) helped Utah State to a 2-3 record last weekend at the Utah Tech Classic as USU posted a pair of wins against Eastern Kentucky (12-2 (5), 3-2) and lost to Weber State (5-4; 5-4) and Utah Tech (3-2). Gonzalez began the tournament by going 1-for-3 in the first game against Weber State, and then went 0-for-4 in the second. In the first game against Eastern Kentucky, she went 3-for-4 at the plate with two home runs and a double, totaling five RBIs with two runs scored. She then went 2-for-3 with one home run, two runs scored and an RBI in the second game against the Colonels. Gonzalez concluded the tournament by going 2-for-4 against Utah Tech with a double. For the week, Gonzalez hit a team-best .444 (8-of-18) with eight hits, two doubles and three home runs, and was responsible for four runs and six RBIs. She posted a 1.056 slugging percentage and a .444 on base percentage. In the field, Gonzalez totaled 14 putouts and four assists.

MEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD – Junior Brennan Benson (Orem, Utah) won two titles at the Mountain West Indoor Championships, held last weekend in Albuquerque, New Mexico, as he helped the Aggies to a fourth-place team finish with 94 points. Benson won the mile with a time of 4:11.48 and was a member of the distance medley relay team that finished first with a time of 10:07.76. Benson was also part of the 4x400-meter relay team that placed fifth with a time of 3:15.63.

WOMEN'S INDOOR TRACK & FIELD – Senior Hannah Davidson (Sandpoint, Idaho) placed sixth in the mile with a time of 4:57.37 and was part of the distance medley relay team that finished fourth with a time of 11:46.95. As a team, the Aggie women tied for 10th place with 27 team points.

2023-24 America First Credit Union USU Student-Athlete of the Week Winners

Aug. 28 – Shelby Capllonch, Volleyball

Sept. 4 – Adna Mehmedovic, Volleyball

Sept. 11 – Jaiden Francois, Football

Sept. 18 – Diera Walton, Soccer

Sept. 25 – Shelby Capllonch, Volleyball

Oct. 2 – Bodin Zarkovic, Men's Tennis

Oct. 9 – Cooper Legas, Football

Oct. 16 – Tatum Stall, Volleyball

Oct. 23 – Bodin Zarkovic, Men's Tennis

Oct. 30 – Julio Arronte Sanchez, Golf

Nov. 6 – Whitney Lopez, Soccer