February 3, 2026

MADISON, S.D. – Dakota State's (S.D.) junior Oliviyah Thornton was selected by the Frontier Conference as the Women's Indoor Field Athlete-of-the-Week, presented by Erck Hotels.  The sixth edition of the women's indoor track & field conference weekly honors were announced Tuesday by the conference office.

It was the second time this season that she had received the weekly honor.

Thornton continued her dominance, winning another pair of titles at the Concordia (Neb.) Track & Field Classic for the Trojans.  She improved her personal and school record in the weight throw, hitting the NAIA 'A' automatic qualifying mark of 17.68 meters (58 feet, .25 inches).  Her weight throw toss is currently sixth best in the NAIA.

She added the NAIA 'B' provisional qualifying mark of 13.97 meters (45 feet, 10 inches) in the shot put for DSU.  She is currently No. 3 in the NAIA's shot put this season.

Oliviyah is a native of Garretson, S.D., and majors in cyber leadership and intelligence at Dakota State University.

Dakota State heads to two different meets on Saturday, the Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) Alumni Meet in Mitchell, S.D., and the Frank Sevigne Husker Invitational hosted by NCAA Division I Nebraska in Lincoln.