By FHSU SPORTS INFORMATION
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Fort Hays State multi-athlete Mattie Rossi has been named the latest MIAA Field Athlete of the Week, announced Tuesday (Feb. 7) by the league office. Rossi posted national qualifying marks in a pair of events over the weekend, setting a new season-high in the pentathlon while surpassing the NCAA Division II national qualifying mark in the 60m hurdles three times.
The senior opened the weekend at the Bearcat Invite in Maryville, Mo., where she racked up 3,730 points in the pentathlon to move into 10th on the NCAA DII performance chart. Rossi picked up a single-event high of 976 points in the 60m hurdles with a provisional qualifying time of 8.69 before matching that time in the preliminary round of the 60m hurdles at the Washburn Open & Multis.
The Yampa, Colo. native ran the finals in the 60m hurdles in 8.73 before wrapping up the weekend with a personal-best time of 57.35 in the 400m dash, second-best at FHSU during the NCAA DII era.
A six-time All-American and three-time All-MIAA honoree, this is the first weekly honor in Rossi’s career. She is the first Tiger to earn the award this season.
With the MIAA Championships looming in just two weeks, the Tigers will continue their season in Pittsburg, Kan. this weekend (Feb. 10-11) at the Gorilla Classic.