Saint Joseph’s College junior sprinter Samantha Nirva and Lewis University senior pole vaulter Rebecca Priesler have been named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Women’s Indoor Track and Field Athletes of the Week, respectively, it was announced on Wednesday.

Nirva opened her 2013-14 indoor season with a fifth-place finish and a time of 8.99 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles at the Bob Eubanks Invitational at Grand Valley State this past Friday.  The Crystal Lake, Ill., native was clocked at 8.97 in the preliminaries and was beaten by four other competitors, three of whom compete for the University of Michigan.   

This is the first weekly honor for Nirva and the first-ever for a Saint Joseph’s track standout during the indoor season.  Puma field athletes have been recognized by the league on five different occasions, most recently bon Feb. 8, 2011 when Alexis DeJean was named GLVC Indoor Field Athlete of the Week.