TAMPA - Sophomore Jared Thomas of the University of South Florida track and field team was named the BIG EAST Male Field Athlete of the Week, in an announcement made by the conference office Tuesday.

Thomas threw 193-6 in the discus at the FSU Relays Saturday morning at the Mike Long Track, the fourth-longest throw of the year in Division I and the second-longest in the BIG EAST. The mark solidified his spot at the NCAA Preliminary Round, formally the East Regional, in Greensboro, N.C., May 27-29 and possibly the NCAA Outdoor Championships June 9-12.

In addition, Thomas set the school record for the third time in USF's first three outdoor meets of the season after originally setting the all-time top mark last season as a freshman.

Thomas began the season by throwing 182-3 at the USF Open March 5, then upped it to 185-4 at the Bulls Invitational March 19 after coming into the season with a career-best 181-2 set at the LSU Alumni Gold Meet in 2009.

Julian Wruck of Texas Tech leads the nation so far this year in the discus with a throw of 200-2.

Thomas is the second USF athlete to earn a weekly honor during the 2009-10 track season after sprinter Lindsey Lamar was named the BIG EAST Male Track Athlete of the Week back in January.

The track and field teams will be back in action this weekend at both the Florida Relays and the Spike's Classic at Embry-Riddle.