Mid-American Conference

Men’s Track Athlete of the Week
Tyler Underwood, Eastern Michigan, 400m
Senior – Clinton, Michigan/Clinton
Eastern Michigan senior Tyler Underwood earned a second-place finish at the Music City Challenge hosted by Vanderbilt University, Saturday, Feb. 9. Underwood's time of 46.91 was just .001 seconds behind the event's winner, DaShawn Morris, from University of Maryland. The senior is currently tied for 24th in the NCAA in the 400m with his 46.65 time at last weekend's Meyo Invitational, Feb. 1-2.
 
Women’s Track Athlete of the Week
Mackenzie Andrews, Akron, Mile
Senior – Toowoomba, Australia/Fairholme 
University of Akron senior Mackenzie Andrews ran a school-record time of 4:35.63 in the women's mile at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational hosted by Boston University on Friday, Feb. 8. Andrew's performance broke her own school-record time of 4:40.13 set at the Hokie Invitational on Jan. 18. Her effort also stands as the 15th-fastest time in the NCAA this season with the top-16 times in the NCAA following the conclusion of conference meets qualifying for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, March 8-9 in Birmingham, Ala.
 
Men’s Field Athlete of the Week
Samory Fraga, Kent State, Long Jump
Senior – Porto Alegre, Brazil
At the Doug Raymond National Qualifier, Samory Fraga grabbed the victory in the long jump, breaking his own school record with a mark of 25'-05.25." The Brazil native previously broke the Kent State record in 2018, reaching a mark of 25'-04.50." His jump was the best mark in the conference this weekend and ranks third in the MAC and 20th nationally on the season.  
 
Women’s Field Athlete of the Week
Aliyah Gustafson, Bowling Green, Shot Put/Weight Throw
R-Senior – Iowa City, Iowa/Iowa City
Aliyah Gustafson swept the shot put and weight throw at the Doug Raymond Invitational. Her shot put toss was more than a foot further than any other MAC thrower has tossed this year, and tied for 10th best in school history.

 
 
Other Nominees:
Sarah Anderson, Western Michigan, 800m
Senior – Grand Rapids, Michigan/Forest Hills Central
Sarah Anderson crushed the competition in the 800-meter run at the Grand Valley State Big Meet. Anderson ran a time of 2:07.38, beating her competition by over a second. Anderson's time now ranks in the top spot in the MAC and 34th in the nation. She also holds the top spot in the conference in the mile run, which she set last weekend at the Meyo Invitational.
 
Brandon Burke, Buffalo, High Jump
Sophomore – Churchville, New York/Byron-Bergen
Burke placed first out of 15 jumpers in the high jump event at the Doug Raymond National Qualifier. Burke's winning mark of 6'8.25" is his second best this season.
 
Bryeana Byrdsong, Ball State, 60m/200m
Junior – Indianapolis, Indiana/Warren Central
Junior Bryeana Byrdsong turned in a strong day at the Doug Raymond National Qualifier, placing second in the 200m (24.55) and fourth in the 60m (7.54) to lead a strong effort by the Cardinals. She also ran the opening leg for the sixth-place 4x400m relay which clocked in at 3:53.99.
 
Mackenzie Callahan, Northern Illinois, Mile
Sophomore – Minooka, Illinois/Minooka
Callahan crossed the line in 4:51.26 in the mile to reach the MAC qualifying standard with the seventh-fastest time in the conference this season. The Huskie sophomore finished sixth at the GVSU Big Meet, which was won by Emma Rafuse of Purdue Fort Wayne with a time of 4:45.25.
 
Kadian Clarke, Eastern Michigan, Shot Put/Weight Throw
Sophomore – Kingston, Jamaica/Immaculate Conception
Eastern Michigan sophomore Kadian Clarke broke her own school record in the weight throw for the third time this season at the Kent State Raymond Douglas National Qualifier, Saturday, Feb. 9, in Kent, Ohio. She cleared 18.69m in the weight throw, good for fourth-place while improving her own school record by almost .5m. Clarke's throw not only earned her a top-5 finish at the national qualifier, but also tied the fifth-best effort by a Mid-American Conference Athlete this season.
 
Hannah Falcione, Miami, Triple Jump
Junior – Venetia, Pennsylvania/Peters Township
Falcione set a new personal best in the triple jump on Friday at Grand Valley State's Big Meet, recording a distance on 11.83m to win the event.
 
Zach Hartkey, Eastern Michigan, Weight Throw
Senior – Huron, Ohio/Huron
Continuing his streak of success at the GVSU Big Meet was Eastern Michigan senior Zach Harkey with a weight throw of 20.14m, good for a fourth-place finish. His mark was not only his career-best throw but the third-longest in Eastern Michigan laurels. His throw was .4m further than his previous-career-best, set at the GVSU Open earlier this season, Dec. 7, 2018. Furthermore, his performance earned him the second-best throw seen in the Mid-American Conference this season.
 
Asa Hodrick, Kent State, 60m/200m
Freshman – Cincinnati, Ohio/Sycamore
At the Doug Raymond Invitational, Asa Hodrick picked up a victory in the 200-meter recording a career-best time of 21.48. He also finished second in a tight race in the 60-meter, finishing with a time of 6.88, just one one-hundredth of a second behind the first-place finisher. His time in the 200-meter is the best in the MAC on the season, while he is ranked fourth in the conference in the 60-meter.
 
Erin Howard, Central Michigan, Shot Put
Sophomore – Lansing, Michigan/Sexton
Erin Howard broke the CMU women's indoor shot put record on Saturday at the Doug Raymond Invitational at Kent State. Howard, a Lansing, Mich., native placed second in the women's shot put at Kent State as her record-setting toss measured 52 feet, 9 ¼ inches. Howard's mark ranks 2nd in the MAC and 26th in the NCAA.
 
Kalliopi Kountouri, Miami, 600m
Senior – Nicosia, Cyprus/Pascal English School
Kountouri broke a Miami school record on Friday at Grand Valley State's Big Meet, running a 1:30.93 in the 600m for the best mark in program history. This is the 16th best time recorded in the 600 across the nation so far this season. She was also a member of the RedHawks' 4x400 team that took second on Friday and first on Saturday at GVSU.
 
Sydney Meyers, Eastern Michigan, 3000m
Senior – Zionsville, Indiana/Zionsville Community
Eastern Michigan senior captain Sydney Meyers earned her personal-best 3000m time at the Iowa State Classic, Friday, Feb. 8, in Ames, Iowa. Meyers placed seventh overall while recording the fifth-fastest time in program history. Meyers' 3000m time of 9:19.23 not only topped her previous career-best by more than 10 seconds, but her effort also surpassed the top Mid-American Conference performance this season by more than nine seconds. The Zionsville, Ind. native now ranks 41st in the country for the 3000m during the 2018-19 campaign.
 
Megan O’Neil, Central Michigan, 5000m
Senior – Stanwood, Michigan/Morley Standwood
Megan O'Neil broke the Central Michigan indoor record in the women's 5,000-meter run on Friday at the Grand Valley State Big Meet. O'Neil, a senior from Stanwood, posted a time of 16 minutes, 34.19 seconds to etch her name in the Chippewa record book. She broke the mark, 16:41.27 which placed her sixth overall in the event. O'Neil's time ranks 5th on he MAC leader board.
 
Hailley Peters, Ball State, High Jump
Sophomore – Seymour, Indiana/Trinity Lutheran
Tied her season-best effort by clearing 1.63m to place 6th in the high jump at the Doug Raymond National Qualifier.
 
Taylor Ramsey, Northrn Illinois, High Jump
Freshman – St. Louis, Missouri/Hazelwood Central
Taylor Ramsey cleared 1.69m (5-6.5) in the high jump at the GVSU Big Meet to tie for the fifth-best mark in the MAC this season and win the competition. Tabor Gleason of Grand Valley and Lauren Willow of Cedarville each cleared a mark of 1.64m to finish second in the meet.
 
Janell Rowe, Toledo, Triple Jump/Long Jump
Sophomore – Somerdale, New Jersey/Sterling
Sophomore Janell Rowe hit a personal-best triple jump of 12.04m to take fifth at the Doug Raymond National Qualifier on Saturday. Rowe also competed in the long jump, where she took 14th with a leap of 5.28m. For the triple jump Rowe lands fifth in the MAC and 148th in the NCAA. For the long jump Rowe lands 16th in the MAC and 370th in the NCAA.
 
Grace Tennant, Kent State, Shot Put
Sophomore – Caistor Centre, Ontario/South Lincoln
In the shot put at the Doug Raymond National Qualifier, Grace Tennant finished third in the event and moved into tenth in Kent State's records, reaching a career-best mark of 51'-02.75." This mark ranks third in the conference and 44th nationally.
 
Kevin Weiler, Central Michigan, Shot Put
Senior – Swartz Creek, Michigan/Swartz Creek
Senior thrower Kevin Weiler captured the men's shot put this weekend at Kent State's Doug Raymond Invite with a 17.96m toss. The Swartz Creek, Mich., native sits at the No.1 spot in the MAC rankings and 52nd in the NCAA with his season-best 18.05m mark.
 
Shanice Williams, Toledo, 200m
Senior – Toronto, Canada/Northview Heights
Senior Shanice Williams posted a personal-best time of 24.60 in the 200-meters at Saturday's Doug Raymond National Qualifier, hosted by Kent State. Williams took third overall. For the 200-meters Williams is ranked ninth in the MAC and 240th in the NCAA.
 
Nicole Yeargin, Kent State, 200m
Junior – Bowie, Maryland/Bishop McNamera
Nicole Yeargin finished first in the 200-meter at the Doug Raymond National Qualifier, for her second consecutive victory in the event. Continually improving her time from week to week, she ran a career-best time of 24.05, shaving 0.20 off her previous best and moving into third in Kent State's indoor records. Her time ranks at the top of the conference this season.