Brooklyn, N.Y. - With one week to go until the 2012 Northeast Conference Championships, three LIU Brooklyn track and field athletes have earned NEC weekly honors. Junior Nickolei Mahlung is the men's track athlete of the week, while senior Jessie Gaines is women's field athlete of the week and Shakia Williams is the women's rookie of the week.

Contesting a top-tier 60-meter field of 48 entrants at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational, Mahlung sprinted his way into the 16-person final round. His preliminary round time (6.73) was the seventh-fastest amongst the meet's competitors and ranks first overall on the NEC performance list by 0.09 second.  Mahlung clocked in at 6.76s during the New Balance finals, claiming 13th place. With his season best from the New Balance Invitational, the first-year Blackbird ranks 28th amongst all NCAA Division I 60-meter sprinters.

Gaines, the three-time NEC Indoor MVP put up a personal record in the triple jump at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational.  Gaines topped a field of 27 competitors by bounding 13.14m.  While improving his NEC-leading mark, the fourth-year Blackbirds escalated to fourth place overall on the NCAA Division I performance list.

Williams turned in her first sub-25 second 200-meter performance and catapulted into the NEC's Top 3 as a result.  The first-year Blackbird clocked in at 24.81, well below the qualifying standard for the ECAC Championships, to score an eight-place finish at the New Balance Collegiate Invitational.

The women will look to defend their team crown on Feb. 11-12 at the NEC Championships, while the men took to improve on their third place finish.