NEW ORLEANS—South Dakota senior Chris Nilsen has been named the USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week for the period ended Feb. 23.
 
Nilsen broke the NCAA indoor collegiate record in the pole vault last Friday at the Nebraska Tune-Up. He vaulted an indoor best of 19 feet, 5 ½ inches, inside the Bob Devaney Sports Center. The height ranks Nilsen as third in the world this indoor season behind Sweden's Mondo Duplantis and fellow American Sam Kendricks.
 
Nilsen's height ranks him as the No. 15 indoor performer in world history and No. 4 indoor performer in American history.
 
This marks the third USTFCCCA National Athlete of the Week accolade for Nilsen. He earned the honor twice in 2018, following the Howard Wood Dakota Relays and the Nebraska Tune-Up that season.
 
A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Nilsen owns a personal best of 19-6 ¼ from the 2019 NCAA Outdoor Championships in Austin, Texas. That height broke the NCAA meet record. He has broken the 19-foot barrier at 14 meets during his career, with four 19-foot jumps coming during the indoor season. Three of those happened at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.
 
South Dakota competes at the Summit League Championships in Fort Wayne, Indiana, this weekend. Nilsen is scheduled to compete in the men's pole vault competition at 4 p.m. Friday.