BATON ROUGE — LSU pole vaulter Russ Buller has been named the SEC men’s track and field athlete of the week by virtue of his victory at the Penn Relays Saturday afternoon.
Buller, a senior from Westlake, La., won his second career Penn Relays pole vault title with a mark of 18-6 +, the third highest clearance in the 106-year history of the competition.
Saturday’s Penn Relays victory continued a recent tear for the NCAA indoor champion. Buller has cleared at least 18-4 + in each of his past five outings. His mark of 18-8 + to win the Texas Relays title leads the NCAA and ranks seventh on the outdoor world list.
Buller has already won the SEC and NCAA Indoor crowns, the Texas and Penn Relays titles this season. His NCAA title in March was the first by an LSU man in the pole vault since 1933.
At next weekend’s SEC Outdoor Championships at Bernie Moore Track Stadium at LSU, Buller will attempt to become the first man in LSU history to win an SEC title in an event four consecutive years, after having won the pole vault title in each of his first three seasons. In addition, he can match the SEC career record for pole vault titles at six with a victory at the conference meet next week.