BILLINGS, Mont. – For the second consecutive week, and third time this season, Montana State University Billings women's track & field thrower Rae Smart was named the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Field Athlete of the Week, as announced by the conference on Monday.
 
The award was given to Smart after another impressive meet for the freshman on Sunday at the Yellowjacket/Battlin' Bears Dual, where she broke the MSUB school records she set just the past weekend in shot put and javelin, hitting NCAA DII Provisional Qualifying Marks, climbing both the conference and national rankings in one of the most impressive campaigns by an athlete in program history.
 
"Rae continues to impress," praised MSUB track & field head coach Jonathan Woehl. "We had great weather last week for a track & field meet so it was great to see Rae and our entire team have strong performances."
 
Smart's best result would come in the shot put, where she would throw an impressive 14.95m (49' 0.75"), besting her own record mark of 14.59m (47' 10.5") from the previous meet. Smart's throw would move her to the top shot put mark in the GNAC so far this season, along with the seventh best shot put mark in the conference's history. Hitting a provisional qualifying mark for the third time this season, the effort moved her up to eighth in the entirety of Division II in the event.
 
Meanwhile in the javelin, her mark of 43.98m (144' 3") would trounce her previous best and school record mark of 41.84m (137' 3"), also set last weekend. The freshman would climb to third in the GNAC this season in the event, with her mark giving her a provisional qualifying mark in a second event this season. Smart's javelin mark currently ranks 26^th nationally in Division II.
 
Additionally, the freshman also finished second in the discus on Sunday afternoon, throwing a strong 39.91m (130' 11"). Smart currently holds the eighth highest mark in the GNAC in discus, along with the 12^th highest mark in hammer throw this season, on track to compete in all four events at the GNAC Championships from May 4-5.
 
Smart and the rest of the Yellowjackets men's and women's track & field athletes will compete in their final regular season meet in Missoula on April 24-25, taking part in the Montana Open hosted by the University of Montana at Dornblaser Field. Meet information will be made available on the men's and women's team schedule pages.