COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Damon Unland's Mountain West hammer throw title defense is off to a great start, as the league office announced Tuesday afternoon that it had named him Men's Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week. It is the first career MW weekly honor for the Wyoming senior.
 
In just his second competition since the 2017 outdoor season, Unland won the men's hammer throw by over 10 feet at the Mines Nature's Bakery Invite on Saturday. His mark of 197 feet, 10 inches currently leads the league by over 10 feet as well, and he is tied for 50^th in the nation. Unland's toss was just two inches short of his personal best. His younger brother, redshirt freshman Kirk Unland, took third in the event as the pair showed potential to become a formidable duo at the league level.  
 
Dating back to the 2017 outdoor season, Unland has won three of his last four hammer throw competitions, with the sole defeat coming at the NCAA West Preliminary Round. Unland was victorious by just under 10 feet at the 2017 Mountain West Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Logan, Utah, where he recorded a mark of 197-8. The Spokane, Wash., native was a model of consistency throughout the 2017 outdoor season, competing in the hammer throw at nine meets and finishing in the top three for the event eight times.
 
With the award for the elder member of Wyoming's "throws bros," the Pokes have received a MW weekly accolade for the first two weeks of the 2018 outdoor campaign and for the fifth time overall during the 2017-18 track & field season. Junior Ja'la Henderson was honored by the conference last week for her brilliant performance in the long jump at the outdoor season opener, the Jerry Quiller Classic.
 
The Pokes will be competing as a full team for the first time during the outdoor season on Saturday. The squad heads to Greeley, Colo., for the Tom Benich Invitational. Stay tuned to GoWyo.com and @wyo_track on twitter for more information.