Fabian Edoki Named National Athlete of the Week

Third times a charm.

For the third time in as many weeks, a member of the South Plains College Track and Field program has been named the National Athlete of the Week by the U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.

Fabian Edoki, a freshman long jumper from the country of Nigeria, has been deemed the honors after his soaring jump of 25 feet 11 inches this past weekend at the South Plains College Indoor Invitational in Levelland.

"Coming all the way from my country of Nigeria, my main goal was to be number one in internationals," Edoki said. "When we started training, we worked on my technique, and coach Vance helped me a lot. When we went to our meet in Kansas, he saw my mistakes, and we worked on it, and it's been a long process."

Edoki's jump on his third attempt Saturday afternoon currently ranks first in the country by nearly seven inches over Butler Community College's Mohammed Abubakar. Hassan Abdi and DeVante Lacy earned NAOTW honors for the Texans after Lacy ran a 46.61 in the 400 meters at the Tyson Invitational in Arkansas, and Abdi took the top spot in the men's 5000 meters, and broke the school record in the 3000 meters at the Charlie Thomas Invitational in College Station on February 6.

With three athletes from South Plains earning such a prestigious honor, Edoki fully expects for the Texans and Lady Texans to compete for another national title when they travel to Winston Salem, North Carolina on March 4 for the NJCAA Indoor Championships.

"I know my dad right now is almost crying, because this is unbelievable for my family," Edoki said. "Coming to South Plains College and working with coach Vance has changed my life, in everything. He's always telling me at practice, 'Fabian, just keep working, you're going to be great.' I'm now finally starting to see the results."