Texas Border Business
RIO GRANDE VALLEY – The Western Athletic Conference (WAC) announced on Monday that graduate student thrower Paul May of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) is the WAC Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Year, as voted on by the WAC head coaches.
May was named the Outstanding Field Performer at the 2021 WAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships after winning the men’s shot put by 1.16 meters with a program record-tying throw of 18.09 meters and taking second in both the discus with a throw of 50.38 meters and hammer with a throw of 57.19 meters.
May is responsible for both of the 18.09-meter shot puts in program history, initially setting the program record at the Roadrunner Invitational on April 16. May now holds seven of the 10 best shot puts in program history, six of which have come this year. May owns the top five spots in program history, the top four of which were accomplished this year.
May also broke the program record in the discus this year with a throw of 55.84 meters at the J. Fred Duckett Twilight on April 24. May holds the top four spots and six of the top 11 in program history. Five of those marks were accomplished this year, including three of the top four.
May set a personal record in the hammer, the second-best in program history, with a 60.06-meter throw at the J. Fred Duckett Twilight on April 24. May is responsible for five of the top eight throws in program history, all of which have come this year.
May’s best marks lead the WAC in all three events. He ranks 27th in the west region in the discus, 38th in the shot put, and 62nd in the hammer. Nationally, May ranks 49th in the discus and 77th in the shot put.
May is set to compete in the shot put on Wednesday at 6 p.m. and the discus on Friday at 1:30 p.m. at the NCAA West Preliminary Round, hosted by Texas A&M. He is set to become just the second thrower and one of three student-athletes in program history to compete in multiple events at the NCAA West Preliminary Round, along with current teammate and junior Harry Barthelemy (triple jump and long jump) and following in the footsteps of Diamond Thomas (discus and shot put) in 2019.
 announced on Monday that graduate student thrower Paul May of The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley (UTRGV) is the WAC Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Year, as voted on by the WAC head coaches.){kind=link}