WHITEFISH, Mont. – Jillian Sanchez of the University of Providence track and field team was named the Erck Hotels Frontier Conference Women's Outdoor Field Athlete of the Week, the conference announced on Monday.

This is the second Frontier Conference award that Sanchez has received this season; she was named the Frontier Conference Indoor Field Athlete on Jan. 17 after becoming the first Argo women's field athlete to win a weight throw event in program history.

"I'm just so happy for her," head coach Tony Arntson said. "She's worked so hard at it. She spends so much time doing it and it means a ton to her. I'm happy for both her and throws coach Alan Cress. They are receiving the dividends of all their hard work and the time they've spent. Jillian is really excited about it and she knows that she can keep getting better."

Sanchez, a senior from San Bernardino, Calif., placed fourth in the women's hammer throw at the Al Manuel Invitational in Missoula, Mont. this past weekend with an NAIA A-standard throw of 50.71 meters. She also placed 19^th in the discus throw with a mark of 32.23 meters. Sanchez qualified for the NAIA National Championships in the discus throw last weekend with an NAIA B-standard throw of 43.34 meters.  

"She's a big, strong athletic girl," Arntson said. "It's a work ethic thing. She takes it very seriously – it means a lot to her and that hard work is paying off for her. It's no secret why she's qualified for two different events."

Sanchez is picking up where she left off in the spring season when she competed in the NAIA National Indoor Championships in the women's weight throw event. She finished in 18^th place with a throw of 15.81 meters.

The coaching staff believes that the demeanor and confidence that Sanchez shows during competition goes a long way to the success that she's had. Sanchez seems to raise her level when she competes against Division I competition.

"Handling that level of competition is huge," Arntson said. "We don't see the type of girls that she got to see this weekend until we get to Nationals. Now that we've been exposed to that, and handled it very well, she has a great experience when she gets to Nationals. She needs to see that and compete against big guns and handle that situation. She did that which is great."

Sanchez and the coaching staff will use the remainder of the season to finetune some of the techniques as she chases All-American status at the NAIA National Outdoor Championships, which will begin on May 25 in Gulf Shores, Ala.

"There's a couple of things that she's really working hard to finetune," Arntson said. "They are little things that could make the difference of making a 160-foot hammer throw or a 175-foot throw, which could make her competitive in the All-American discussion. She's working hard and trying to get a little bit better each week. We're focusing on the little things that could make that difference."

Sanchez and the Argos will compete again this Saturday in Billings, Mont. in an event hosted by Rocky Mountain College.