Women’s Track Athlete of the Week
Shantavia Williams, Eastern Michigan University
Senior, Homestead, Fla. /South Dade
Additional Info: Senior Shantavia Williams as able to record another top-five finish completing the 400-meter dash with a 54.10 finish, good for second place at the Meyo Invitational. The Homestead, Fla. native also was a member of the distance medley relay team which set a new EMU record at the Meyo Invite. Along with Beverly Elcock, Victoria Voronko and Morgan Churchwell, Williams and her team completed the race in 11:30.21, over three seconds faster than the previous record set in 2011. Williams was also a member of the 4x400-meter team that took second at the Meyo Invitational. The 4x400 team consisted of Williams, Elcock, Asia Rawls and ReJeana Margina, and finished in 3:42.69.
Women’s Field Athlete of the Week
Kim Preston, Kent State University,
Senior, Greenville, Pa. /Reynolds H.S.
Senior Kim Preston (Greenville, Pa.) had a second straight weekend with a stellar performance in the pole vault at Penn State's Sykes & Sabock Challenge Cup Feb. 4. Preston captured the title Saturday against 31 competitors with an effort of 13-01.50, which tied the Sykes & Sabock meet record. She is currently ranked 30th nationally in the pole vault.
Men’s Track Athlete of the Week
Tecumseh Adams, Central Michigan University
Sophomore, Harbor Springs, Mich. /Harbor Springs H.S.
Additional Information: Adams broke his second school record in seven days with a career-best time of 8:02.39 in his first 3,000m run of the season at the Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame on Saturday. His time replaces a mark of 8:11.4 set in 2007 at the Mid-American Conference Championships by back-to-back 3,000m and 5,000m individual champion Jeff Powers. Adam's time is ranked 27th among NCAA Division I student-athletes according to the Track and Field Results Reporting System.
Men’s Field Athlete of the Week
Kevin Mays, Central Michigan University
Senior, Flint, Mich. /Carman-Ainsworth H.S.
Additional Information: Mays threw a career-best 67-06.75 in the invitational-only Elite section of the weight throw at the Findlay Open on Friday. The mark replaces his previous career best of 67-06.25 that resulted in him winning an individual Mid-American Conference championship in 2011. May's mark is the best in the MAC this season and is ranked 11th among NCAA Division I student-athletes, according to the Track and Field Results Reporting System.
Other Nominees:
Allison Weimer, Bowling Green
Junior, Pittsboro, Ind. / Brownsburg
Allison Weimer continued her strong performance in the 600 meters, finishing first with a time of 1:37.42, her second-straight victory in as many weeks. The previous week she missed the school record in the same event by one second. Weimer also ran the final leg of the 4x400, helping the Falcons to finish first with a time of 4:07.30.
Brooklynn Ventura, Buffalo
Junior, Waterloo, NY/Waterloo
Ventura set a new school record in the 60H and ran the leading time in the MAC with an 8.59 clocking as she placed 4th overall in a strong field at the Penn State Sykes-Sabock Invite. The time broke Patrice Coney's record from 2008 by .01 seconds. She also ran a very fast 55.6 split in the DMR relay as the Bulls finished fifth in 12:29.67.
Holly Anderson, Central Michigan University
Senior, Fruitport, Mich. /Fruitport H.S.
Additional Information: Anderson broke the school record in the 5,000m run with a time of 16:49.93 at the Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame, becoming the first Chippewa in indoor track history to break the 17-minute barrier. Her record replaces a 1987 mark of 17:01.3 set by Chris Cooper. Anderson's time ranks as the best in the MAC so far this season and 29th among NCAA Division I student-athletes, according to the Track and Field Results Reporting System.
Melinda Sawnor, Kent State University,
Junior, Rochester, N.Y. /Greece Athena H.S.
Junior Melinda Sawnor (Rochester, N.Y.) set a personal best with her second-place finish in the women’s 800-meter run on Saturday at the Meyo Invitational against a field of 72 competitors; she was the top collegiate finisher. Her time ranks sixth fastest in team history and moves her into 29th nationally in the 800-meter run this season.
Juli Accurso, Ohio
Sophomore, Casstown, Ohio/Miami East
Juli Accurso was victorious in the 3000 meter run invitational on the second day of the Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame. The sophomore set a school record and also broke the mark for fastest time ever run in the 3k by a Mid-American Conference female student-athlete. Accurso's time of 9:21.89 not only broke Annie Beecham's previous school record in the event by almost 11 seconds, but obliterated her career best by 1:18. It was the 26th fastest time in the 3k this season by a Division I female student-athlete
Emma Kertesz, University of Toledo
Senior, Toledo, OH /Central Catholic H.S.
Emma Kertesz finished in ninth-place in the prestigious “Meyo Mile” in a time of 4:48.26 for the Rockets, as they raced in the 48-team Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame. The time is a new school record, and is the fastest time produced in the one-mile run in the Mid-American Conference to this point in the season. It is one of the fastest times ever recorded in the mile by a MAC female athlete.
Iris Campbell, Western Michigan
Junior, Emmett, Mich./Yale HS
Campbell broke her own school record in the 200 meter dash at the prestigious Meyo Invitational on Saturday afternoon. Her time of 24.18 seconds, broke her previous record by .10 seconds as she took second place in the event. Campbell also nearly broke the school record in the 60 meter hurdles with a time of 8.60, just .08 off the record and third best in WMU history. Campbell also led the 4x400 meter relay team to a first place finish with a time of 3:40.05.
Skyler Willis, Akron
Freshman, Cincinnati, Ohio/Withrow University HS
Skyler Willis tallied 3,636 points, the most recorded by any MAC athlete this season, for a fourth-place finish in the women's pentathlon Friday night at the Akron Invitational at Stile Athletics Field House. It is also the 45th-highest total recorded among all Division I athletes nationally. The true freshman placed third or better in three of the five events, including a first-place finish in the 800m (2:23.12) and the second-best mark in the high jump (5-05.50). Additionally, Willis came in third in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.99 and placed fifth in the long jump with a leap of 17-07.00. She finished just 248 points behind event winner Cheryl Bourne from Ashland, who recorded 3,884 points.
Ashley Harris, Bowling Green
Senior, Toledo, Ohio / Bowsher
Ashley Harris set a season-best mark of 47-01.50 in the shot put and her third-best performance in 2012 in the weight throw (55-11.25), finishing fourth and eighth at the Findlay Open in her two events.
Angela Scarber, Eastern Michigan University
Junior, Waterford, Mich. /Kettering
Junior, Angela Scarber set a new EMU record on Friday with a 58-foot and 6.75-inch toss in the weight throw. Scarber broke her previous record by over a foot and a half at the Meyo Invitational Saturday afternoon.
Chiara Allen, Western Michigan
Sophomore, Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion HS
Allen broke the WMU record in the triple jump with a distance of 40 feet, 8 inches. Her record distance put her fifth in the event at the Meyo Invitational. The previous record was held by Joy Eloms (2008), in which Allen beat out by four inches. Allen also competing in the 60 meter hurdles.
Miles Lewis, Buffalo
Sophomore, Coram, NY/Newfield
At Penn State's Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup, Lewis advanced to finals in the 60m placing third overall with a fast 6.84 time. He also placed second in the 200m with a season's best 21.67.
Grzegorz Kalinowski, Eastern Michigan University
Sophomore, Lysomice, Poland /Nicolaus Copernicus University
Sophomore runner, Grzegorz Kalinowski led the way for the EMU men with the second best time in Eagle history in the 1,000-meter run on Friday, Feb. 3 at the 2012 Meyo Invitational. Kalinowski completed the distance in 2:22.76 and he fell to just Chris O'Hara from Tulsa, who was the 2010 NCAA runner-up in the mile.
Joshua Schmidt, Kent State University,
Junior, Ashwood, Australia
In the men’s 800-meter run at Notre Dame's Meyo Invitational, junior Joshua Schmidt (Ashwood, Australia) turned in the third-best time in program history with his PR of 1:50.49, good for an eighth-place finish; his effort places him 38th in the country in the men's 800-meter run.
Rob Golabek, Buffalo
Senior, Hamburg, NY/Frontier
Golabek remained unbeaten this season in taking his fourth shot put title of the season at Penn State's Sykes-Sabock Challenge Cup. His winning toss of 61-1.25 (18.62m) won the event by more than three and a half feet.
Teron Turner, Eastern Michigan University
Junior, Ypsilanti, Mich. /Kalamazoo College
Junior transfer, Teron Turner, had a 56-foot and 9.50-inch heave in the weight throw at the 2012 Findlay Open Friday afternoon. The toss was good for ninth all-time on the Eastern Michigan marks for the Ypsilanti, Mich. native.