Owsinski earns Pac-12 field event athlete of the week honors...

SAN FRANCISCO—The Pac-12 Conference named Washington pole vaulter Kristina Owsinski (left/photo by Randy Miyazaki/trackandfieldphoto.com) as its women’s field event athlete of the week for the week ending April 26th.

Owsinski, a junior from Ridgefield,  cleared a new career-best and best mark in the Pac-12 this year in the pole vault at 14-feet, 2.50-inches (4.33m) on Saturday at the Triton Invitational. She took first out of a field of 38 athletes and moved to #11 nationally this outdoor season, as well as moving to # 2 on the Husky top-10 list.

Owsinski is the second Husky vaulter to win a Pac-12 weekly honor this season, as Jax Thoirs won the men’s honor on Mar. 24. But even with all of UW’s great pole vault tradition, Owsinski is the first Husky women’s vaulter named Pac-12 Athlete of the Week. Washington’s only other women’s field athletes of the week were javelin thrower Brooke Pighin in 2010, and U.S. Olympic discus thrower Aretha Hill in 1998 and 1996.

Owsinski has cleared 14 feet in three of her last six meets this season.

The Pac-12 release is available here.

NOTE:  The Pac-12 Conference and the University of Washington contributed to this report.