It's time to take you inside for the next edition of the #RebelTop5. This week's historical feature spotlights the track & field team and its top players of the past decade (2010-19).
This was not an easy list to compile, so be sure to let us know on social media if you agree or disagree with our #RebelTop5.
And now we present the #RebelTop5 for Women's Track & Field!
5. Emily Blok – Sprints (2010-13)
One of the most decorated student-athletes in UNLV track & field history came to Las Vegas from Conifer, Colorado. Emily Blok was a finalist in the indoor 60m and 200m, and outdoor 100m and 200m all four years representing the Scarlet & Gray. Blok wound up earning All-Mountain West Team honors in those sprints a total of 10 times and was a member of nine relay teams that earned All-MW Team recognition. At the MW Indoors, she improved from her runner-up finish in both the 60m and 200m in 2012 with conference titles in both events in 2013. The inverse happened when it came to the indoor 4x400m relay with the 2012 foursome winning the MW crown, while the 2013 edition was second overall. In MW outdoor competition, she claimed second in the 200m from 2011-13 and was second or third in the 100m during that same time frame. In the relays, the 4x100m quartet won it all in 2011 and was second place in 2010, 2012 and 2013, while the 4x400m group was first in 2012 and top three in 2010 and 2013. During her senior campaign of 2013, she competed at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and helped the 4x100m relay to USTFCCCA Second Team All-America status, while earning Honorable Mention for her efforts in the 200m.
4. Destiny Smith-Barnett – Sprints (2015-19)
The sprinter from Oakland, California, ran her way into not only UNLV's record book, but also the Mountain West's all-time and championships, too. Destiny Smith-Barnett was a three-time USTFCCCA All-American, making the Second Team twice in 2017 (indoor 60m and outdoor 100m) and once in 2019 (indoor 60m: fourth place). She was an eight-time All-Mountain West Team honoree, with four of those coming from top-three finishes in the indoor 60m, winning the event in both 2015 and 2019. She was also a three-time runner-up in the outdoor 100m from 2016-18. In the rankings, she sits first overall in UNLV and the MW's indoor 60m with a time of 7.15 and the outdoor 100m (10.94). Additionally, she sits third in UNLV's outdoor 200m with a time of 22.91.
3. Kaysee Pilgrim – High Jump (2016-17)
The high jumper from the Grand Canyon State was only at UNLV for two years, but definitely left her mark in the record book. Kaysee Pilgrim began her collegiate career at Pima Community College in Tucson, Arizona, and was a four-time NJCAA All-American and three-time national champion (two indoor and one outdoor). She owned a share of the NJCCA's outdoor high jump record with a distance of 6-1.25 (1.86m). While at UNLV, she was a two-time USTFCCCA All-American, making First Team in 2017 (third place) and Second Team in 2016 (11th). Pilgrim rewrote the program's indoor and outdoor marks with a height of 6-0 (1.83m) and 6-2.75 (1.90m), respectively. Moreover, that indoor measurement ranks sixth all-time in the MW, while the outdoor mark – achieved at the 2017 MW Championships – is tops in both the conference's all-time and championships record book.
2. Avi'Tal Wilson-Perteete – 800m (2018-Present)
The native of Oakland, California, literally hit the ground running once she landed in Las Vegas to attend UNLV. After competing with the cross country program in the fall of 2017,
Avi'Tal Wilson-Perteete began to make a name for herself in track & field as a middle distance runner. She opened her collegiate track career with runner-up finish in the indoor 800m at the Mountain West Championships, but has since claimed the top spot in the subsequent conference meets, winning the indoor title in both 2019 and 2020 as well as the outdoor crown in 2018 and 2019. Unfortunately, the 2020 outdoor campaign was canceled due to the Covid-19 pandemic. By virtue of her individual finishes at the MW meets, she has garnered all-conference team honors five times, and has been a member of a top-three 4x400m relay team for times: outdoor in 2018-20 and indoor in 2019. She has also claimed USTFCCCA First Team Outdoor All-America status in 2019 – third place in the 800m – and Second Team recognition in 2018 – 15th in the 800m. When it comes to records, she sits first overall in the MW Outdoor's all-time (2:01:14) and championships (2:02.87) as well as top-three in the Indoor's championships (second: 2:04.71) and all-time (third: 2:04.01). She became UNLV's all-time 600m record holder in 2020 with a time of 1:29.37.
BONUS NOTE: During the summer of 2019, Wilson-Perteete ran to a gold medal finish at the NACAC U18 & U23 Championships in Queretaro, Mexico.
1. Amanda Bingson – Hammer Throw (2009-12)
Arguably one of the best athletes that the city of Las Vegas has produced, Amanda Bingson capped off her stellar collegiate career with a runner-up finish at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials and, in turn, a chance to represent the Red, White & Blue at the London Olympics. As a student-athlete, the Silverado High School graduate was a three-time USTFCCCA First Team American, with a third- and fourth-place finish at the 2012 and 2011 NCAA Outdoor Championships, respectively, and a seventh-place showing in the weight throw at the 2012 NCAA Indoor Championships. She was a five-time All-Mountain West Team performer with three hammer throw titles and a pair of weight throw runner-up finishes. She was chosen the recipient of MW Outdoor Championships' Outstanding Performance award three times, and tabbed the conference's Athlete of the Week four more. She rewrote the program's hammer throw mark on numerous occasions and still owns the record with a throw of 71.04 (233-1) in 2012 at the NCAA West Preliminary, which is also first overall in the MW's annals. She still ranks first in the program's weight throw, too, tossing a 70-3.5 (21.42m) distance – fourth overall in the MW – at the NAU Invitational in 2012.
BONUS NOTE: Following her runner-up showing at the 2012 U.S. Olympic Trials, Bingson finished atop the standings at both the 2013 and 2014 USATF Outdoor Championships. At the 2013 national meet in Des Moines, Iowa, she reset the U.S. hammer throw record with a mark of 245-9 (74.92m) on her second attempt; however, she one-upped herself on her third throw, tossing a distance of 248-5 (75.73m). One year later in Sacramento, California, she broke the stadium record on back-to-back attempts, registering a mark of 246-3 (75.07m).
