CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Three High Point University Track & Field athletes were named Big South Athletes of the Week on Wednesday afternoon. On the men's side, Chris Van Niekerk was named the men's Field Athlete of the Week for the third week in a row while, A'lajuwan Robinson was named the men's Track Athlete of the Week for the first time this outdoor season. Letizia Jessica Marsico was named the women's Field Athlete of the Week. The Panthers hosted the annual VertKlasse Meeting last weekend and welcomed a variety of teams from different divisions to Vert Stadium.
 
Van Niekerk took first place in the men's shot put throwing a distance of 17.40m on Friday. He also competed in the men's discus and placed third overall throwing a distance of 54.22m.
 
Robinson represented HPU in the men's 100m dash and 4x100m relay race. He clocked a 10.55 second 100m dash to earn fourth place and helped his 4x100m team to a second-place finish with a school record 40.21 seconds.
 
Marsico competed in two throwing events, the women's discus and shot put. She placed seventh in the women's discus throw with a personal best distance of 47.72 and later placed 12th in the shot put throwing 13.57m.
 
High Point will have athletes competing at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate, Bryan Clay Invitational, Beach Invitational and Duke Invitational, Thursday through Saturday.