By Nate Perry, TTU Sports Information
BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – Raven Smith reeled in the fourth Ohio Valley Conference Athlete of the Week honor for Tennessee Tech track and field this outdoor season, as the league office recognized the senior jumps specialist on Wednesday for her most recent performance at the Louisville Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invitational last weekend.
The Female Field Athlete of the Week award is Smith's first of the outdoor season and her third overall in 2019, coupled with the two she won during the indoor year.
Smith made her case by leaping 12.26 meters (40 feet, 2 3/4 inches) in the triple jump at UL on Saturday afternoon, giving her the team's top finish on the weekend – a fourth-place result out of 29 competitors.
Battling in the seeded section of the event, the Atlanta native jumped further than entrants from Cincinnati, DePaul and Xavier, as well as Virginia Tech – one of the best track and field programs in the country.
The jump was the third-best of Smith's career outdoors, and her fourth-best overall. It also marked the second time she has recorded a mark of more than 40 feet this outdoor season, and the third time in four tries that she has notched a top-six result in the event. She has now been among the top six on 13 career occasions while competing outside in the triple.
With the regular season now complete, Smith will finish with the second-best triple jump distance in the league, an outdoor school-record mark of 12.46 meters (40-10 1/2) from the Virginia Challenge on April 20. That measurement also ranks 45th on the NCAA Division I East Outdoor Qualifying List, and tied for 89th on the NCAA Division I Outdoor Combined List.
