Lincoln sweeps awards for MIAA track

Lincoln swept the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association Track Athlete of the Week awards, the league announced Monday.

Yanique Ellington was honored from the women's team, while Romel Lewis was recognized for his accomplishments on the men's squad. Both athletes were selected after breaking meet records with automatic-qualifying times at the Missouri Relays on Saturday.

Ellington broke the meet record in the 100-meter dash with a top time of 11.52 seconds, which leads the MIAA and ranks second in all of NCAA Division II.

Ellington finished second in the 200 in 23.86, another provisional time that's currently the second best in the MIAA. She was also a member of Lincoln's winning 4x100-meter relay team, which finished with a provisional mark of 45.78 - the second fastest time in the country among Division II schools.

Lewis broke two meet records and posted two of the fastest times in the country. The senior sprinter won the 100 in 10.28, an automatic-qualifying time that ranks second in Division II. The mark also blew away the previous meet record of 10.39, set in 2004.

Lewis was also a member of Lincoln's record-breaking 4x100-meter relay squad, which won the race with a provisional time of 40.24 - the third best in the national. That mark broke the previous record of 40.48, also set in 2004.

The Blue Tigers are scheduled to split time between two meets this weekend, starting with the Kanas Relays in Lawrence. The meet is set to take place Thursday through Saturday. Lincoln is also slated to compete in Missouri S&T's Dewey Allgood Invitational on Saturday.