Mid-American Conference

Men’s Track Athlete of the Week
Riak Reese, Kent State, 100m/200m
R-Senior – Gahanna, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln
Riak Reese ran the fastest 100-meter dash by a Kent State athlete since 1999 to claim his first victory of the outdoor season in a loaded field at the Tennessee Relays. Reese’s personal-best time of 10.18 ranks 13th in the country and puts him third in the program’s record book. He took fourth in the 200-meter dash with a 20.82 and is the only MAC sprinter to break 21.00 this season. Reese ran the second leg of Kent State’s 4x100 relay team that finished in 40.61 to claim fifth-place in a field headlined by the team of Christian Coleman, Justin Gatlin, Ronnie Baker and Mike Rodgers that attempted to break the American record in the event.
 
Women’s Track Athlete of the Week
Jasmine Jones, Eastern Michigan, 200m/400m
Senior – Greensburg, PA/Hempfield Area
Senior Jasmine Jones had a busy weekend at the Tennessee Relays Thursday-Saturday, April 12-14, in Knoxville, Tenn. Throughout the duration of the meet, the Hempfield Area product participated in the 200m and 400m, as well as the 400 and 600 relays. In her individual performances, Jones placed 12th in the 200m and 20th in the 400m. Her 200 time of 23.50 serves as a personal-record, while also ranking third in program history, first in the MAC, and 73rd in the country this season. Clocking in at 55.55 in the 400m, Jones ranks sixth in the conference in the event for this campaign. Moreover, she also assisted the 400 and 1600 relay cohorts to times of 45.39 and 3:42.80, which earned them fourth and eighth-place finishes, respectively. Furthermore, the 1600 relay time of 3:42.80 ranks second in the conference, and the 400 time of 45.39 is faster than any other MAC program this season, while coming up just short of EMU's season and conference-best time of, 44.99.
 
Men’s Field Athlete of the Week
TJ Lawson, Kent State, Decathlon
R-Sophomore – Stow, Ohio/Stow-Munroe Falls
T.J. Lawson punched his ticket to the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships and holds a No. 5 national ranking in the decathlon after scoring 7,724 points in a dominant victory at the Tennessee Relays. Lawson, who set a new PR in three events, finished in the top-3 in every event with victories in the long jump, shot put and pole vault. The All-American posted marks that rank in the top-10 in the MAC in the high jump (6’-8.25”/3rd), long jump (24’-2.5”/5th) and javelin (168’-7”/8th).
 
Women’s Field Athlete of the Week
Aliyah Gustafson, Bowling Green, Shot Put/Discus/Hammer
R-Senior – Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa City
Aliyah Gustafson won the discus and the shot put and set a new personal best in the hammer throw at the Miami Duals Friday. Gustafson's hammer throw of 58.21m (191-0) ranks second in the MAC this year and places her fourth in school history. She also threw the shot put 16.47m (54-0.5), which is the second-best performance of her career and second in school history. No other thrower in the conference has come within a meter of her effort this year. Finally, Gustafson won the discus with a distance of 50.79m (166-8). She is one of just three women in the MAC to throw the discus at least 50.0m twice this year.

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Other Nominees:
 
Men’s Track
Tyler Brown, Eastern Michigan, 200m/400m
R-Senior – Findlay, Ohio/Findlay
Redshirt senior Tyler Brown continues to leave his mark in every event he competes in, as he set three of the MAC's top performances this season in the Tennessee Relays, Thursday-Friday, April 12-14, in Knoxville, Tenn. Individually, Brown placed third in the 400 with a time of 46.95, and 20th in the 200 with a time of 21.41. That 400 mark ranks first in the MAC and 44th in the NCAA, while the 200 time comes in at fifth best in the conference. As a member of the 4x4 relay squad, Brown supported the team to a second-place finish with a time of 3:07.38. That too acts as the new conference standard in the event, while also ranking 23rd in the country.
 
Shane Moffo, Central Michigan, 100mH
R-Junior – Farmington Hills, Mich./Walled Lake Western
Shane Moffo claimed his second runner-up finish in his second meet of the outdoor season on Saturday, clocking a time of 14.23 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles at the Ole Miss Joe Walker Invite. Moffo cut nearly two-tenths of a second off his time runner-up time from two weeks ago at the NC State Raleigh Relays (14.41) and was only .05 seconds off his career best (14.18). The redshirt junior ranks second on the MAC Outdoor Performance List, is one of two MAC athletes to have met the automatic qualification standard for the Outdoor Championships and is ranked 77th in the country on the NCAA Division I Combined List.
 
Sean Torpy, Miami, 1500m
Sophomore – Orland Park, Ill./Carl Sandburg
Defending MAC Men's Freshman of the Year Sean Torpy proved this weekend on his home track he's on a mission to live up to the hype. Running in a fast 1500m to prep for longer races, Torpy turned in a 3:46.24 to become the MAC leader by over seven whole seconds. It also puts him on the bubble for a first-round qualification for the NCAA Regionals. Converting for a mile, his 1500m time pushes him ever-closer to dropping before the sub-four-minute mark. Torpy is now the top MAC performer in two events, the other being the 5000m.
 
 
Women’s Track
Remy Amarteifio, NIU, 100mH
Sophomore, Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township
Sophomore Remy Amarteifio won the 100-meter hurdles race on Saturday at the Illinois Twilight competition. Her finish bumped her into the second fastest time in the MAC and broke the top-100 in the Nation.
 
Bryrana Byrdsong, Ball State, 100m/200m
Sophomore – Indianapolis, Ind./Warren Central
Sophomore Bryeana Byrdsong showed why she is considered on of the top young sprinters in the Mid-American Conference with dominating performances in both the 100m and 200m at the Ball State Challenge. Among a field of 68 runners in the 100m dash, Byrdsong came out on top with a career-fast time of 11.69. It was the fastest 100m time in the MAC this week and put her third on the league's outdoor performance list. In addition, it was the fifth-fastest individual time in program history. Byrdsong followed with an even more impressive run in the 200m dash, toping a field of 77 runners with a career-fast clocking of 23.79. We the effort, Byrdsong moved up to second on the league's performance list for the event. In addition, it ties as the fifth-fastest individual time in program history. Both times were also MAC Outdoor Championship automatic qualifying efforts and make her one of only two athletes in the league to have already qualified for both the 100m & 200m.
 
Kalliopo Koutouri, Miami, 400m
Junior – Nicosia, Cyprus/Pascal English School
Kalliopi Kountouri recorded a 55.71 in the 400m at home Saturday despite pouring down rain. The junior now ranks seventh in the MAC.
 
Maria McDaniel, Western Michigan, 1500m/3000m
Senior – Naperville, Ill./Naperville
McDaniel was the lone Bronco to win a race at Auburn's Tiger Track Classic over the weekend. She finished first in the 1,500-meter run after running a season's-best time of 4:33.92.  She also went on to take third overall in the 3,000-meter run after finishing a time of 10:01.81.
 
Kyla Walton, Central Michigan, 400mH
Senior – Aurora, Ill./West
Kyla Walton ran a career-best time of 1-minute, 1.03-seconds to win the 400-meter hurdles at the Ole Miss Joe Walker Invite. It was the first career 400m hurdles victory for Walton, who was more than four-tenths of a second faster than the runner-up finisher, and, in the process, obliterated her previous best of 1:02.79, which was set last outdoor season. The senior moves all the way up to fourth on the MAC Outdoor Performance List and has earned automatic qualification status for the MAC Outdoor Championships.
 
Nicole Yeargin, Kent State, 200m
Sophomore – Bowie, Md./Bishop McNamera
Nicole Yeargin posted three top-5 conference times in a busy weekend against elite competition at the Tennessee Relays. Yeargin sprinted into fifth in the Kent State record book with a time of 23.98 in the 200-meter dash, which ranks fourth in the MAC, on Friday evening. On Saturday, she led off for the 4x400 relay team that clocked a 3:44.6 and then ran the second leg for the 4x100 relay team that finished in 46.57, which rank third and fifth, respectively, in the conference.
 
 
Men’s Field
Ben Cambria, Miami, Javelin
Freshman – Basking Ridge, NH/Ridge
Ben Cambria made himself the lone freshman in the MAC top-five for shot put this weekend after launching a 17-foot PR at the Miami Duals. Cambria was one of six other RedHawks to PR in either the men's or women's javelin Friday.
 
Devon Patterson, Buffalo, Shot Put
Senior – Williamsville, NY/Williamsville South
Devon Patterson won the men’s collegiate shot put by over 3 feet, dominating the field. Patterson leads the MAC and ranks #16 in the NCAA East Region.  
 
Logan Targgart, Central Michigan, Hammer Throw
R-Sophomore – Coldwater, Mich./Coldwater
Logan Targgart launched the hammer 64.64 meters (212-1) on the fifth attempt of his series to claim a victory in the hammer throw at the Ole Miss Joe Walker Invite. Targgart's toss was the second-best hammer throw attempt of his career and was less than two feet short of his career best from last year's Ohio State Jesse Owens Classic. Targgart was dominant at Ole Miss, with a margin of victory of 16 feet over second-place finisher Cullen Prena of Ole Miss. He now leads all MAC hammer throwers by more than 23 feet on the MAC Outdoor Performance List, has met the standards for automatic qualification, and is ranked No. 30 on the Division I Combined List.
 
Derek Ziegenfuss, Eastern Michigan, Javelin
Junior – Allentown, PA/Parkland
Junior Derek Ziegenfuss came out with another strong showing in the javelin this weekend at the Tennessee Relays, Friday, April 13, in Knoxville, Tenn. There, he marked a distance of 66.01 in just his second performance of the season. That distance is a new season high, while also serving as the third best throw in the conference and 39th best toss in the NCAA this season.
 
 
Women’s Field
Gabby Collins, Western Michigan, Long Jump
R-Sophomore – Chesaning, Mich./ Caro
Collins nearly toppled a school record after recording the second-best outdoor long jump in program history. Collins jumped a distance of 19' 10.75" (6.06 meters) to claim third place in the event at Auburn's Tiger Track Classic. The distance also ties her for second-best in the MAC and was a MAC Championship automatic qualifying mark. In addition to being a new career-best, it is the longest outdoor long jump by a Bronco since 2012.
 
Miranda Daucher, Discus/Hammer
Senior – Alden, NY/Alden
Miranda Daucher winning throw in the Discus at the Bison Classic not only set a new Facility Record, but also leads the MAC and ranks #12 in the NCAA East Region.  Miranda also took 2nd in the Hammer Throw and she ranks #7 in the MAC.
 
Dace Dreimane, Eastern Michigan, Triple Jump
Senior – Ventspils, Latvia/Ventspils Gymnasium No. 1
Senior Dace Dreimane had another strong performance in the triple jump at the Tennessee Relays, Saturday, April 14, in Knoxville, Tenn. Dreimane reached a distance of 12.85m, which currently ranks second in the conference and 30th in the country. Additionally, that mark comes up just shy of her personal-record (12.87m), which is currently EMU's best in program history.
 
Gabrielle Figueroa, Kent State, Hammer 
Senior – Youngstown, Ohio/Austintown Fitch
Gabrielle Figueroa now owns the two top hammer throw marks in the Mid-American Conference this season after throwing 191’-5” at the Tennessee Relays. Figueroa placed fifth in a loaded field behind Olympian DeAnna Price and four collegiate throwers ranked in the top 30 in the country.
 
Gaza Odunaiya, Ohio, Discus/Hammer
Junior – Athens, Ohio/Athens
Ohio junior Gaza Odunaiya (Athens, Ohio) qualified for the MAC Outdoor Championships with her performance in both discus and the hammer throw at the Charlotte Invitational (April (13-14). The junior added a win for the Bobcats in discus where she recorded a throw of 47.65m. She then went on to compete in the hammer throw where she placed third overall with a best throw of 54.64m. In the MAC, Odunaiya currently holds the seventh-best throw in discus and the fourth-best throw in the hammer.
 
Kelsey Walters, Ball State, Shot Put
Sophomore – Troy, Ohio/Troy
On a day which saw 40 teams and 823 student-athletes compete at University Track inside the Briner Sports Complex, it was the performance of sophomore thrower Kelsey Walters that stole the show for Ball State, as she broke the program record in the shot put with a distance of 14.77m. Walter's performance was also a MAC auto mark and eclipsed the previous program record of 14.68m notched by Gena Rusch in 1991.
 
Jehvania Whyte, NIU, Triple Jump
Junior – Kingston, Jamaica/Vere Technical
Junior Jehvania Whyte expanded the NIU outdoor triple jump record for the second time this season. Whyte jumped 12.98 meters (42' 7.00") to earn first place at Illinois on Saturday and move up in the NCAA rankings to 19th in the Nation.
 
Nadia Williams, Central Michigan, Long Jump
Sophomore – Mount Horeb, Wis./Mount Horeb
Nadia Williams jumped 6.07 meters (19-11) to win the long jump at the Joe Walker Ole Miss Invite - her first outdoor meet this season. It was the third-best outdoor long jump distance of Williams' career, and was more than four inches better than the second-place finisher, Kaira Simmons of Ole Miss. Williams was the only competitor in the 13-member field to jump more than six meters. Williams now owns the top spot on the MAC Outdoor Performance List, is an automatic qualifier for the MAC Championships, and is ranked 68th on the NCAA Division I Combined List.