PASADENA – The University of La Verne swept this week's SCIAC Athletes of the Week awards as Lenore Moreno and Chancise Watkins have been named Female and Male Athletes of the Week for their stellar performances at the 2014 NCAA Indoor Track and Field National Championships.

Moreno won the 5,000 meters to become La Verne's first-ever indoor track and field national champion. Her winning time of 16 minutes, 32.85 seconds surpassed an 11-year-old championship meet record set by Melissa White of Geneseo State (N.Y.) in 2003 by more than six seconds and is the third fastest in Division III history.

Watkins placed third in the 200 meters at the championships with a time of 21.504—he was .003 seconds behind the second place runner. Watkins was ranked 12^th in the nation going into the championship meet, but posted the third fastest time in the prelims to qualify for the finals. The championship race was Watkins's second time ever competing in the indoor 200m and the Mountain T's Invitational where he posted his qualifying mark was the first time he had ever formally competed in the event.

Moreno and Watkins also became La Verne's fourth and fifth indoor track and field All-Americans (Lori Waters – 2004, Chelsea Sherier – 2005, Paul Turner – 2013).

The senior duo's achievements are even more impressive given the fact that they had no indoor facilities in which to practice when most of their east coast and midwestern competitors did and this was their first year competing in the indoors.