Barely a week into the winter seasons, the Maroons made a statement about the level of competition they’ll be bringing in 2008 after a trio of South Siders earned UAA Athlete of the Week honors.

Returning from taking home All-American status and the outdoor track and field 2007 Rookie of the Year title, second-year Claire Ray is back in award-winning form. She posted a 14.8-meter distance in the 20-pound weight throw at the squad’s opening meet against UW–Oshkosh for the second-best throw in school history. Her mark landed .2 meters shy of a NCAA provisional qualifying standard, giving Ray a headstart on making the cut for Nationals.

On the NCAA path for the men’s track squad, first-year Jacob Solus kicked off his college career in style by meeting a provisional standard for the triple long jump. Nailing a 14.25-meter leap, Solus also claimed a first-place finish in the event.

Closing out the weekly accolades for Chicago, first-year Ellie Elgamal continued to dominate the waters of Myers-McLoraine Pool, winning three individual events and swimming a leg of the winning 200-yard medley relay (1:55.40). The butterfly specialist set pool and school records in the 100-yard with the NCAA provisional qualifying time of 57.84 and also led the way in the 200-yard butterfly (2:14.15) and 200-yard freestyle (2:01.98).