BUFFALO, NY - University at Buffalo women's track and field athlete Sarah Fletcher (Ridgeway, Ontario/Ridgeway-Crystal Beach) has been named the Mid-American Conference Female Scholar-Athlete of the Week. The award was announced by the league office on Tuesday.

Sarah Fletcher

Fletcher, a senior social sciences major with a 3.195 grade point average, set the UB and Mid-American Conference records in the hammer throw at last weekend's Penn Relays in Philadelphia. Fletcher took second in the competition with a toss of 187-10 (57.27m) to break a four-year old UB record and exceed the league mark by nine inches. The throw was also a personal best for Fletcher and provisionally qualified her for the NCAA Championships.

It has been a busy week for Fletcher. Following the team's return from the Penn Relays, she was named UB's Female Athlete of the Year at the annual awards banquet and also garnered women's track and field honors as the team's Most Valuable Player.

Fletcher and the rest of the Bulls host the UB Open on Friday and Saturday at UB Stadium. Her event, the hammer throw, is slated to start at 10:30 a.m. on Saturday. The meet will also serve as the final regular season competition for UB head coach Dick Barry, who announced his retirement after 17 years at the helm of the cross country and track and field programs earlier this week.

Fletcher is the fourth UB athlete to win the award this year. Baseball player Corey Blair (Oneida, NY/Oneida), football lineman Andy Avery (Rochester, MI/Rochester Adams) and women's basketball forward Jessica Kochendorfer (Allen, MI/Quincy) have been previously honored by the league.

The MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week honor is presented to a MAC male and female student-athlete who has a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better and performs well during that week's competition. The winners are selected by one of the conference's faculty athletic representatives.