TRACK AND FIELD: Sophomore Katie Palmer has earned Mountain West Conference Athlete of the Week honors for her performance at the Stanford Invitational in Palo Alto, Calif.

The Boulder City, Nev., native finished second overall and first among collegiate participants in the 800-meter run at last weekend's meet. Palmer's time of 2:05.56 is not only an NCAA regional-qualifying mark but also the second-fastest time in the nation and the top MWC time this season.

"It's great to receive this honor again," Palmer said. "It was good to open the outdoor season on such a positive note. I hope I can build off of last week's performance and continue to improve."

Palmer's time places her fourth on the MWC and fifth on the BYU all-time record lists. She also had an impressive 1,500-meter race, where she took eighth overall with a time of 4:23.21. Her 1,500-meter time ranks ninth in the nation and qualifies her for NCAA Regionals.

"Katie performed great at Stanford," said BYU women's head track and field coach Craig Poole. "She is an excellent competitor and deserves this award."

This is Palmer's second MWC Athlete of the Week award and her first career outdoor athlete of the week honor. She earned her first award during the 2009 indoor season, where she received All-America status with a fourth-place finish at Nationals in the 800-meter event and a third-place finish in the Distance Medley Relay.

Palmer and the Cougars will next compete on Friday at the BYU Cougar Invitational in Provo.

TRACK AND FIELD: Freshman Nachelle Stewart led the third-ranked Cougars on the first day of competition at the Texas Relays on Wednesday at Austin, Texas.

Stewart became the 800-meter Texas Relays champion Wednesday with an NCAA Regional qualifying time of 2:08.98. Her first-place time is the second-fastest of her career and her best as a BYU athlete.

"Nachelle ran great today," said BYU women's head track and field coach Craig Poole. "It was really exciting to see her earn the top spot."

Also competing well for the Cougars on day one was Amy Menlove. Menlove sits in second in the heptathlon going into the second day of competition.

Menlove took first in the 100-meter hurdles (13.66) and 200-meter dash (24.44) and placed in the top five in both the high jump (5-5.25) and shot put (38-9.75) events, helping her earn a total of 3,422 points.

"I was very pleased with our start," Poole said. "Amy still has some of her best events left. We're starting to compete at a high level again, which is exciting."

Menlove will look to gain ground on Michigan's Bettie Wade, who leads the competition with 3,575 points. The Michigan standout took fifth in the pentathlon at the 2009 Indoor National Championships, the same event Menlove won to earn her the national title.

The heptathlon will resume today with the 800-meter run.