Kari McAllister-Clark Receives MWC Athlete of the Week Award

COLORADO SPRINGS -- Junior Kari McAllister-Clark earned Mountain West Conference Athlete of the Week honors after breaking the BYU pole vault record on Friday at the BYU Tri-Meet in Provo.

McAllister-Clark won the women's pole vault event with an NCAA regional qualifying mark of 13'-9.75”. The Fair Oaks, Calif., native ranks ninth in the nation and third on the MWC All-Time record list.

“I’m really proud of Kari,” said BYU women’s head track and field coach Craig Poole. “She is doing a phenomenal job and I think she has the potential to be a national contender. Her pole vault coach Erik Rasmussen continues to help her improve and together they are making significant strides.”

McAllister-Clark owns the top spot in the MWC standings after improving the school record by five centimeters at Friday’s meet.

“It feels great to be recognized with this award,” said McAllister-Clark. “It’s really nice to see the hours of hard work pay off. Receiving this award gives me new motivation to perform at an even higher level.”

This marks McAllister-Clark’s first MWC Athlete of the Week award and the Cougars fourth of the outdoor season. Overall BYU has earned a record nine Athlete of the Week awards in 2009.

Next up for McAllister-Clark and BYU will be the MWC Championships in Laramie, Wyoming, beginning Wednesday, May 13th.