Darius King earns back-to-back MVC Field Athlete of the Week honors for school record

CEDAR FALLS, Iowa - For the second consecutive week, UNI track and field's Darius King earned the Missouri Valley's weekly honor for field athletes.

King threw 20.26 meters (66 feet, 5.75 inches) in the shot put to win the Musco Twilight last weekend. The mark topped his own UNI record of 20.14 meters (66-1). He is sixth in the U.S. in shot put.

He also took eighth at the Musco Twilight in the hammer throw with a toss of 54.80 meters (179-09).

King made his third NCAA championship appearance at the 2022 Division I National Indoor Track and Field Championships. He earned second team all-America honors with a 10th-place throw of 19.58 meters in the shot put.

King finished seventh in the 2021 NCAA outdoor championships with a toss of 19.69 meters.

He was 12th at the 2021 NCAA indoor championships. He was then invited to participate in the 2020 Olympic Trials, finishing 12th with a toss of 18.43 meters.

Darius King is a graduate student from Moline, Illinois. He is the son of Reginald and Beverly King. He is majoring in computer science and technology management with a minor in data science.

UP NEXT

King is set to compete at the Drake relays this week. He will throw the shot put at 1:45 p.m. CT Friday and compete in discus 11:30 a.m. Saturday.

OTHER HONORS
MALE TRACK: JaVaughn Moore, Sprints, Sr., Indiana State [Marietta, Ga.]

Moore continued his climb up the NCAA Performance List at last weekend's Gibson Invitational. The senior sprinter clocked a time of 10.06 (w: +3.9) in the 100m to take first place in the event, after running a time of 10.26 (w: +3.1) in the prelims. Moore also ran the second leg of the 4x100m relay into a headwind for the Sycamores, helping lead the ISU quartet to a first-place time of 40.25 which tied Indiana State's season-best time. His 100m time is tops in the Valley and Great Lakes region, while also ranking third in the NCAA East qualifying and fifth in the nation. The 4x100m time is second in school history, ranks among the top 25 'A' teams in East qualifying and is the top time in the Valley.

Honorable Mention:Jeremiah Hamilton (Southern Illinois), Isaiah Trousil (UNI) Jason Clayton (Loyola), Cecil Brownridge III (Illinois State)

FEMALE TRACK: Rachel Hickey (Redshirt Sophomore – Peru, Ill.) Illinois State

Redshirt sophomore Rachel Hickey had quite the weekend competing at the Indiana Invitational, notching two Illinois State all-time top-10 marks in the span of two days. On Friday, Hickey clocked a time of 4:21.65 in the women's 1500m, more than three seconds faster than her previous personal best. Her time ranks No. 1 in the MVC and No. 56 in the NCAA West Region. Hickey came up short of the Illinois State school record in the event, as she now holds the second-fastest mark in school history. On Saturday, Hickey again set a new personal best, this time running a 2:07.36 in the women's 800m to win her heat and finish fourth overall. Hickey now ranks No. 3 in school history, No. 4 in the MVC and No. 59 in the West Region.

Honorable Mention: Paishence Johnson (UNI), Zoe Sullivan (Indiana State), Jayla Johnson (Loyola), Tiana LoStracco (Bradley), Kayla Schiera (Southern Illinois)

FEMALE FIELD: Shauniece O'Neal, Sr., Southern Illinois

O'Neal won the women's hammer throw at the Illini Invitational on Friday. Her mark of 67.04m (219' 11") was a new personal best and currently ranks her 5th all-time at SIU. She currently leads the MVC in the Hammer Throw event with that mark. She also ranks 11th in the NCAA for the outdoor season.

Honorable Mention: Ryann Porter (Indiana State), Melissa Parrella (Loyola) Rylie Todd (UNI), Amni Austin (Illinois State)

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