Alexander Ziegler (Virginia Tech) made a quiet coliegiate debut last month.  At the Virginia Tech Hokie Invitational, the 22-year old freshman placed sixth with a best of just 19.44m.  Having not thrown the weight before this season, the new implement likely took some getting used to.  In his second meet, he got the hang of things.  This weekend, Ziegler tossed a big personal best of 22.09m at the Virginia Tech Elite meet, beating a solid field in the process and moving up to third in the nation.  While Ziegler's name may not be well known in the U.S., his resume is impressive.  He entered the season with a personal best of 72.46m and took the bronze medal for Germany in the European U23 Championships last summer.

Others considered: Walter Henning (LSU) again improved his personal best and national lead by nearly a foot and will move into first place this week in the rankings after beating a solid field at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational.  On the women's side D'Ana McCarty (Louisville) also improved her best and national lead by nearly a foot. Dimítrios Filladitákis (UTEP) also improved his season's best by over a meter over the weekend.

The CollegeHammer.com Athlete of the Week honor is awarded for the nation's most impressive male or female weight throw performance over the past week. Previous winners: Feb 1 - Kristin Smith (Kentucky); Jan 25 - Marcel Lomnicky (Virginia Tech); Jan 18 - Jeneva McCall (Louisville)

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