SPARTANBURG, S.C. – Furman’s Daniel Bernal and Bethany Graham have been named the Southern Conference men’s and women’s outdoor track athletes of the week, respectively, while Western Carolina’s Mac Bennett and The Citadel’s Milan Williams have been named the men’s and women’s field athletes of the week.
 
Selections were made by panels of the league’s track and field coaches and included all competition from March 24-30.
 
Making his 2021 outdoor debut, Furman’s Bernal competed at the Raleigh Relays last week, turning in a personal-best time of 29:17.95 in the 10,000-meter run Friday to finish 16^th in the event. The senior from El Paso, Texas, leads the SoCon on the season with that time and ranks 16^th on the NCAA Division I Outdoor Qualifying List.
 
Furman’s Graham was also making her outdoor debut at the Raleigh Relays. The freshman from Aldie, Virginia, finished 15^th overall in the 5,000-meter run, taking more than 20 seconds off her personal-best time with a 16:10.53 finish, good for a Furman freshman record. Graham’s time paces the SoCon this season and is 12^th on the NCAA Division I Outdoor Qualifying List.
 
In his first outdoor action of the season, Western Carolina’s Bennett produced a pair of podium finishes at the Montreat College Invitational over the weekend. The junior from Gainesville, Georgia, took third in the shot put with a throw of 15.30 meters on Friday and followed that with a runner-up finish in the discus with a personal-best heave of 47.48 meters on Saturday. Both marks lead the SoCon this season. Bennett’s shot put mark is good for 95^th in the NCAA East Region and his discus result is good for 88th.
 
The Citadel’s Williams broke a school record at the Weems Baskin Invitational in Columbia, South Carolina, on Friday, finishing fourth in the hammer throw with a conference-leading mark of 54.31 meters. The following day, the graduate student from Suwanee, Georgia, picked up another fourth-place finish with a heave of 12.95 meters in the shot put and finished 13^th in the discus with a throw of 37.87 meters. Her shot put mark is fifth in the SoCon and her discus throw ranks fourth. Her hammer result is good for 54^th in the NCAA East Region.
 
2021 Southern Conference Outdoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week>
Men’s track
March 25          Michael McMahan, Samford
March 31          Daniel Bernal, Furman
 
Men’s field
March 25          Solomon Ghosh, VMI
March 31          Mac Bennett, Western Carolina
 
Women’s track
March 25          Amanda Dumar, Samford
March 31          Bethany Graham, Furman
 
Women’s field
March 25          Maggie Johnston, Samford
March 31          Milan Williams, The Citadel