Mid-American Conference

Men’s Track Athlete of the Week
Aaron Muresan, Miami, 110mH/400mH
Junior – Dublin, Ohio/Dublin Jerome
Aaron Muresan continued his strong start to the spring season by hurdling himself into the MAC top-three in two events. The junior opened his day at the Crimson Tide Invitational with a personal-record time of 14.48 in the 110H that placed him fifth. He then finished fourth in the 400H. For the efforts, Muresan found himself in the top three in the conference for both events.
 
Women’s Track Athlete of the Week
Sarah Anderson, Western Michigan, 1500m
R-Sophomore – Grand Rapids, Mich./Forest Hills Central
Sarah Anderson nearly matched her personal-best in the 1,5000-meter run as she took first place in the event at the Gibson Invitational. Anderson ran a time of 4:26.43, which ended up being both a meet record for the Gibson Invite and a facility record at the Gibson Track & Field Complex. While Anderson already holds the fourth-best time in the MAC, her time on Saturday would rank fifth overall in the conference.
 
Men’s Field Athlete of the Week
Matt Ludwig, Akron, Pole Vault
Junior – Chardon, Ohio/Lake Catholic
Akron junior Matt Ludwig continued his strong spring campaign capturing the men's pole vault at the Northeast Ohio Quad on Saturday surpassing 18-1.25 (5.53m). The victory was the second in three meets for Ludwig on the campaign.
 
Women’s Field Athlete of the Week
Gabrielle Figueroa, Kent State, Hammer
Senior – Youngstown, Ohio/Austintown Fitch
Gabrielle Figueroa won the hammer throw Friday night at the Northeast Ohio Quad in record-setting fashion. All four of Figueroa’s counting attempts were good enough to win the competition, and her top mark of 203’-5” bested the previous Kent State record by nearly two feet. The senior is the MAC leader in the event by just under 20 feet and ranks 18th nationally.

 
 
Other Nominees:
 
Men’s Track
Sean Beckom, Eastern Michigan, 100m
Sophomore – Saginaw, Mich./Heritage
Sophomore Sean Beckom competed in his first event since February and didn't disappoint. The Saginaw, Mich. native raced to a finishing time of 10.97 in the 100m to take gold. Additionally, that time moves him up to ninth place in the conference and was just shy of his personal record of 10.79.
 
Alec Omell, Central Michigan, 1500m
Senior – Romeo, Mich./Romeo
Alec Omell ran the 1,500 meters in a career-best 4-minutes, 2.66 seconds to take third place out of 55 competitors at the Michigan State Spartan Invite on Saturday. The senior won the second section of the event at the Spartan, finished two-tenths of a second behind the overall runner-up, and less than one second behind the event winner. In the process, he moved up to No. 14 on the MAC Outdoor Performance List and cut nearly two seconds off his previous best time.
 
 
Women’s Track
Remy Amarteifio, NIU, 100mH/400mH
Sophomore – Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township
NIU sophomore Remy Amarteifio ran in the 100- and 400-meter hurdles. With unsavory weather conditions, Amarteifio ran the 400-meter hurdles in record time as she crossed the finish line neck-and-neck with her teammate at 1:02.48.
 
Yana Khabina, Toledo, 400mH
Junior – Kiev, Ukraine
Junior Yana Khabina finished at the top of two events for Toledo in last week's dual against Bowling Green. Khabina completed the 400mH in 1:02.01, taking first and beating BGSU's Chasatea Brown by .14 seconds. Khabina also anchored for UT's 4x400m relay squad. Toledo took first in the competition thanks to contributions from Khabina. Toledo finished the event in 3:56.43, two and a half seconds ahead of the Falcons' squad.
 
Nicole Yeargin, Kent State, 100m/300m
Sophomore – Bowie, Md./Bishop McNamera
Nicole Yeargin ran a Kent State record 38.24 to win the 300-meter dash inside of Stile Athletics Field House Saturday at the Northeast Ohio Quad. Yeargin also ran a 12.09 to place fourth in the 100-meter dash.
 
 
Men’s Field
Trevor Detillion, Kent State – Discus/Hammer
R-Sophomore – Chillicothe, Ohio/Unioto
Trevor Detillion won the discus throw with a top distance of 172’-11” on Saturday at the Northeast Ohio Quad. Detillion now ranks second in the conference in the event and is No. 68 in the country. The redshirt sophomore also competed in the hammer throw Friday night and had a top mark of 157’-9”.
 
Zach Purcilly, Eastern Michigan, Shot Put
R-Junior – Troy, Mich./Avondale
Redshirt junior Zach Purcilly paced EMU's shot putters at the Spartan Invitational Saturday, April 7, in East Lansing, Mich. Purcilly threw to a distance of 16.32m, placing second in the event. Although this was Purcilly's first time competing in the outdoor season, he still came through with the fifth-best distance reached in the MAC this season.
 
Sam Wagner, Central Michigan, Pole Vault
Senior – Burlington, Wis./Grand Valley State
Sam Wagner vaulted 16 ft. 2 in., in cold, wet conditions to take third place at the Michigan State Spartan Invite on Friday. The senior now holds the top outdoor vault height for the Chippewa men's team this season, is ranked third on the MAC Outdoor Performance List, and comes in at No. 91 nationally.
 

Women’s Field
Kristine Bourg, Eastern Michigan, Javelin
Sophomore – Shorewood, Ill./Joliet West
In just her second attempt this outdoor season, sophomore Kristine Bourg notched a new personal record in the javelin during the Spartan Invitational Saturday, April 7. Her personal-best distance of 40.18m ranked third in the meet, while also serving as the ninth-best throw in the MAC this season.
 
Gabby Collins, Western Michigan, Long Jump
R-Sophomore – Chesaning, Mich./ Caro
Gabby Collins took first place in the long jump, setting a Gibson Invitational meet record with a distance of 18' 10.5" (5.75m). Her jump was a season-best and currently ranks eighth in the MAC. Collins also took fifth in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 14.38 seconds.
 
Marissa Dunn, Central Michigan, Hammer
R-Freshman – Novi, Mich./Novi
Marissa Dunn improved on her previous hammer throw best by over 2.5 meters in claiming a victory at the Michigan State Spartan Invite. It was Dunn's first hammer throw victory of her Chippewa career. Dunn's margin of victory was impressive, as the runner-up finisher was more than 1.5 meters behind at 54.26 meters. Dunn surges all the way up to No. 3 on the MAC Outdoor Performance List, meets the MAC standard for automatic qualification, and is now No. 90 on the NCAA Division I Women's Outdoor Qualifying List.
 
Jenna Frantz, Akron, Pole Vault
Freshman – Versailles, Ohio/Versailles
Earning the victory in the women's pole vault at the Northeast Ohio Quad on Saturday was freshman Jenna Frantz (Versailles, Ohio), who registered a jump of 13-8.50 (4.18m). The triumph marked the first event win for the Zips' freshman as she bested teammate Lucy Bryan, who is the MAC leader in the event and ranked fifth in the NCAA this season, in a jump-off to earn the title.
 
Aliyah Gustafson, Bowling Green, Shot Put/Discus/Hammer
R-Senior – Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa City
Aliyah Gustafson posted arguably the greatest meet in BGSU women's track and field history, setting three personal bests, breaking the school record in the shot put and posting the second-best discus performance in school history. Despite horrible weather conditions, Gustafson won three events in the Toledo Dual, posting the top mark in the shot put in the MAC this year (13th nationally). She also recorded the second-best marks in the MAC in the discus and the hammer throw, where she ranks 37th and 88th nationally. Gustafson's remarkable day helped the Falcons to a 96-96 tie in the heated Northwest Ohio rivalry.
 
Karoline Steppin, Toledo, Triple Jump/Long Jump/Javelin
Freshman – Leezen, Germany
Freshman Karoline Steppin won two events and finished top-three in a third in Toledo's dual against Bowling Green last week. The Leezen, Germany native took home first in the long jump after leaping for 5.47m, beating out two BGSU seniors and two UT juniors with her performance. Steppin also competed in the triple jump where she finished second after going 11.81m,  .1m behind event winner senior Kyla Paster of Bowling Green. Steppin's second victory of the day came during the javelin contest where she threw for 39.09m. Her distance was a full two meters further than the second-place competitor and placed her ahead of three other upperclassmen.
 
Jehvania Whyte, NIU, Triple Jump
Junior – Kingston, Jamaica/Vere Technical
NIU junior Jehvania Whyte has been a dominant force in the triple jump pit this season for the Huskies. Her 12.38-meter jump landed her second distance of 12 meters or farther and her 10th, overall, for 2018.