Montana State junior heptathlete Asa Staven was chosen the Big Sky Conference Male Track Athlete of the Week, the conference office announced.

Staven, a junior majoring in Fish and Wildlife Management,  set a NCAA provisional mark in the heptathlon of 5346 points at the Mountain States Games last weekend in Pocatello, Idaho. His performance ranks him first in the conference in the event and 16th in the nation.

A provisional standard is one level below an automatic qualifying mark which would have given Staven an automatic trip to the NCAA Indoor Championships in March. The automatic mark is 5675 points. Currently there are only four athletes in the nation who have the automatic mark. If not enough athletes receive automatic marks to fill the event at the national championships, athletes will be added in order of performance, provided they have met the provisional standard.

This is Staven's second weekly conference honor for athlete of the week this indoor season.