Wednesday, February 07, 2007

Macon, Ga. -- Continuously inching closer and closer the a NCAA provisional qualifying mark, ETSU's Jarrod Burton has been named the Atlantic Sun Athlete of the Week after shattered his own school record in the weight throw for the fifth time this season; league officials announced today.

Burton, a math major from Bastian, Va., added close to another meter onto his school record distance with his sixth-place toss of 56-11 1/4 (17.35m). In each meet this year the freshman has broke and extended the ETSU school record in the event.

Also competing in the shot put, Burton finished 13th with a put of 49-5 3/4 (15.08m).

Currently he leads the A-Sun in both throwing events by at least two feet. Burton was also honored last week as the AOTW for his efforts in the Niswonger Invitational.

The award is the second for the young Buccaneer and marks the second time in league history that and individual has won the award during back-to-back weeks of competition. Burton joins Campbell's Lincoln Gordon who was honored on Feb. 1, 2006 and then again on Feb. 8, 2006.

The Atlantic Sun Athlete of the Week is announced every Wednesday during the 2007 indoor track season.

The 12-member league headquartered in Macon, Ga., consists of Belmont, Campbell, ETSU, Gardner-Webb, Jacksonville, Kennesaw State, Lipscomb, Mercer, UNF and Stetson with Florida Gulf Coast and USC Upstate beginning competition in 2007-08.

• Joshua Hudson, Gardner-Webb
[Jr. -- St. Louis, Mo. -- French]
Hudson placed third in the 3,000-meter run at the Carolina Invitational with a school-record and personal-best time of 8:41.76. His time currently ranks him sixth in the A-Sun.

• Jeremy Longshore, Gardner-Webb
[Jr. -- Pacolet, S.C. -- Sports Management]
Longshore vaulted 15-7 (4.75m) at the Carolina Invitational to finish in a tie for second. His height in the event currently ranks him first in the Atlantic Sun.

• John Brigham, Belmont
[So. -- Mobile, Ala. -- Business]
Brigham finished first out of 26 runners in the 3,000-meter open at the Indiana Relays in Bloomington, Ind. He finished with a time of 8:41.23 and currently ranks fifth in the conference.