Mid-American Conference

Men’s Track Athlete of the Week
Tyler Underwood, Eastern Michigan, 200/400
Senior – Clinton, Michigan/Clinton
Senior Tyler Underwood saw success in his performances at the Raleigh Relays, recording two career-best efforts in his two-day stint in North Carolina, March 29-30. Underwood ran the 400m in just 46 seconds, the fourth-fastest effort by an Eastern Michigan trackster in program history and the top time ran by a conference athlete this season, while also ranking as the sixth-best effort by an NCAA athlete in the 2018-19 campaign.  Underwood also captured a seventh-place finish in the 200m, running the conference's best 200m time this season, crossing the finish line in just 21.40. Additionally, Underwood ran a leg of the Eagles' runner-up finish 4x100m Relay, aiding the Green and White to still hold the top time run in the MAC this season in the event.
 
Women’s Track Athlete of the Week
Athena Welsh, Toledo, 5000
Junior – Louisville, Ohio/St. Thomas Aquinas
Junior Athena Welsh set the University of Toledo record for the 5000m, clocking a time of 15:58.95 to take third at the Raleigh Relays on Friday. Welsh is the first Rocket to break the 16-minute mark, taking ten seconds off the school record and 26 seconds off her personal best. Welsh is ranked first in the MAC and 12th in the NCAA for the 5000m.
 
Men’s Field Athlete of the Week
Matt Ludwig, Akron, Pole Vault
Senior – Chardon, Ohio/Lake Catholic
Akron senior Matt Ludwig garnered a runner-up finish in the men's elite university pole vault at the Texas Relays on Saturday, March 30, eclipsing the bar at 18-6.50 (5.65m). His effort represented the second-best performance in the pole vault in the NCAA during the outdoor campaign.
 
Women’s Field Athlete of the Week
Lucy Bryan, Akron, Pole Vault
Senior – Bristol, England/Clifton
Akron senior Lucy Bryan registered a career-best outdoor mark of 14-5.25 (4.40m) to place fifth in the women's elite pole vault with the fourth-best jump in the NCAA this season. Her effort was one centimeter shy of equaling the school- and conference-record mark of 14-5.50 (4.41m) set by Annika Roloff in 2014 and represented the second-best mark in the competition by a collegian.
 
 
Other Nominees:
Remy Amarteifio, NIU, 100
Junior – Evanston, Illinois/Evanston Township
NIU's Remy Amarteifio claimed first-place in the 100-meter hurdles at Texas State's Bobcat Invitational this past Saturday. Amarteifio ran a time of 13.60 seconds, the fastest in the MAC this season, to pace the field, edging Tiffany Flynn of Mississippi State by one one-hundredth of a second.  
 
Mackenzie Andrews, Akron, 1500
Senior – Toowoomba, Australia/Fairholme
Akron senior Mackenzie Andrews ran a time of 4:21.01 to capture the women's 1,500 meters to highlight the performances of the Zips' track and field team to close out the 92nd Annual Texas Relays on Saturday, March 30. Andrews took control of the race from the start en route to registering a time of 4:21.01, her best effort since recording a school-record time of 4:20.19 on April 20, 2018. Her performance is ranked 21st nationally this season.
 
Leon Atkins, Buffalo, 800
Junior – Auburn, New York/Auburn
Buffalo Junior Leon Atkins started off his outdoor campaign on a high note, as the middle-distance specialist clocked in a time of 1:50.92 in the 800m race, the fourth fastest time in program history. The time is also a personal best for Atkins, ranking him first in the MAC and 29th in the NCAA east region. This was Atkins' first competition since coming off of a very successful indoor season, highlighted by the junior claiming the gold medal in the 800m at the MAC Championships.
 
Clark Bookman, Kent State, Steeplechase
Junior – Mogadore, Ohio/Field
Clark Bookman opened the outdoor season with a personal-best time of 9:02.05 in the 3,000-meter steeplechase Friday at the Raleigh Relays, which ranks fifth in the Kent State record book.
 
Brandon Burke, Buffalo, High Jump
Sophomore – Churchville, New York/Byron-Bergen
Brandon Burke once again impressed for the Bulls in the high jump at the Florida Relays, as the sophomore leapt his way to a second place finish out of 21 competitors with a height of 6'11" (2.11m). The mark is a new personal best for Burke and ranks him second in the MAC and 10th in the NCAA east region.
 
Kaila Butler, Bowling Green, Hammer
R-Sophomore – Port Coquitlam, British Columbia/Terry Fox Secondary
Kaila Butler was the top collegiate finisher in the hammer throw at the Texas Relays and moved to fourth in MAC history in the event by throwing 213-feet-0 (64.92m) Thursday. Her distance leads the MAC by more than 17 feet and ranks eighth nationally.
 
Danielle Collier, Miami, Javelin
R-Junior – Hermitage, PA/Hickory
Collier was the lone RedHawk at the University of Texas's Texas Relays this weekend, where she tossed a 53.42m mark in the javelin to finish third. Collier, who competed in the NCAA Championships in the javelin in 2017, not only sits atop the MAC performance list but is also top ten in the nation.
 
Trevor Detillion, Kent State, Discus/Shot Put
R-Junior – Chillicothe, Ohio/Unioto
Trevor Detillion opened the outdoor season with a MAC-leading throw of 179’-11” (54.83m) for a runner-up finish in the discus throw at the Raleigh Relays. Detillion also placed 15th in the shot put with a mark of 51’-7.75” (15.74m).
 
Kolby Ganther, Eastern Michigan, 100/4x1
Junior – Park City, Kansas/Northeast Magnet
Junior Kolby Ganther had a successful weekend in the Lone Star State, leading the Eagles to two top-five finishes at the Bobcat Invitational and Texas Relays, March 29-30. EMU's 4x100m Relay team earned a fifth-place finish amongst the best relay teams in the nation, improving its preliminary heat effort by .45 seconds in the finals and also topping its final heat seeding by three places. EMU's performance is not only is the fastest in the Mid-American Conference this season, but is the sixth-best effort in program history in the event. Ganther also recorded a career-best time of 11.92 in the 100m, good for fourth place overall, and the fourth-best effort by a conference athlete in the 2019 campaign. 
 
Nick Herbert, Eastern Michigan, Triple Jump
Senior – Portage, Michigan/Portage Northern
Eastern Michigan senior Nick Herbert brought home an event title in his performance at the Raleigh Relays, March 30. The Portage, Mich. native cleared 15.20m in the triple jump, his career-best triple jump performance while also increasing his grasp on the top performance by a conference athlete by .21 meters. Additionally, Herbert ranks within the top-50 athletes in the nation in the event, the only member from the Mid-American Conference to rank within the best 60 athletes in the nation in the event this season.
 
Emma Mashburn, Miami, 5000
Senior – Knoxville, Tennessee/Hardin Valley Academy
Mashburn ran a solid 17:14.02 in North Carolina State's Raleigh Relays on Friday, finishing in the top half of a deep, 146-runner field. This places Mashburn in the top five on MAC performance lists in the event.
 
Alyssa Matheny, Kent State, High Jump
Sophomore – Akron, Ohio/Manchester
Alyssa Matheny opened the outdoor season with a new personal-best height of 5'-10.50" (1.79m) in the high jump invitational Friday at the Raleigh Relays. Ranked 10th nationally in the event, Matheny is now third in the Kent State outdoor record book. No other MAC competitor has cleared the bar at higher than 5’-7” during the outdoor season.
 
Megan McElroy, Central Michigan, Javelin
Sophomore – Carthage, Illinois/Illini West
Central Michigan sophomore thrower Megan McElroy continued her strong start to the outdoor season this past weekend as the Chippewas competed in N.C State's Raleigh Relayss. The Carthage, Ill., native finished 2nd in the women's javelin with a personal-best 46.65m toss. Her mark is good for 2nd on the MAC, 24th in the region and 51st in the NCAA.
 
Madison Meredith, Western Michigan, 100/4x1
Junior – Birmingham, Michigan/Groves
Madison Meredith both won the 100-meter dash and helped the 4x100-meter relay team to a win at the weather-shortened EIU Big Blue Classic over the weekend. Meredith ran a time of 11.74 seconds, which would have been the top time in the MAC if not for an illegal wind rating. She then ran the second leg of the 4x100-meter relay that ran a time of 50.58 seconds.
 
Megan O’Neil, Central Michigan, 10000
Senior – Stanwood, Michigan/Morley Standwood
Central Michigan senior Megan O'Neil had a career day on the track this past weekend as the Chippewas competed in N.C State's Raleigh Relays. Competing in the 10,000m run, the Stanwood, Mich., native clocked a personal best 34:22.09 to placed 13th-of-45. O'Neil's time is good for the No.1 spot in the MAC and ranks No.19 in the East region and No.47 nationally.
 
Maritza Rodriguez, Ball State, 5000
Junior – Indianapolis, Indiana/Ben Davis
Ball State track & field junior distance runner Maritza Rodriguez finished with a career-best time of 17:06.59 to place seventh among 80 runners in Friday's morning session of the 5000m at the Raleigh Relays hosted by NC State. In her first 5000m run of the 2019 outdoor season, Rodriguez shaved nearly nine seconds off her previous career-best mark of 17:15.53 set in a second-place effort at last season's Hillsdale "GINA" Relays (April 26, 2018). Her time of 17:06.59 currently ranks fourth on the Mid-American Conference performance list. A two-time Academic All-MAC selection so far this academic year, Rodriguez finished the cross country season as Ball State's top runner at the MAC Championships and went on earn her first career points at the MAC Indoor Championships, placing sixth in the 3,000m run.
 
Janell Rowe, Toledo, Triple Jump
Sophomore – Somerdale, New Jersey/Sterling
Sophomore Janell Rowe recorded a personal-best leap of 11.99m to land sixth in the triple jump at the Raleigh Relays on Friday. Rowe surpassed her previous PR by .28m. Rowe is fifth in the MAC and 122nd in the NCAA for the triple jump.
 
Erica Sheahan, Western Michigan, Long Jump/Triple Jump
Junior – Ithaca, Michigan/Ithaca
Sheahan picked up her first win of the outdoor season, taking in the top spot in the long jump with a distance of 18' 7" (5.66m). The jump was a season-best so far and currently ranks third in the MAC. She also finished in fourth place in the triple jump at 33' 8" (10.25m0. Sheahan competed in two other track events as well, taking sixth in the 100-meter dash and helping the 4x100m relay team to a first place finish.
 
Logan Targgart, Central Michigan, Hammer
Junior – Coldwater, Michigan/Coldwater
Central Michigan junior thrower Logan Targgart turned in his best performance of the outdoor season this past weekend as the Chippewas participated in N.C State's Raleigh Relays. The Coldwater, Mich., native placed 3rd in the hammer throw with a 63.62m toss. His mark ranks No.1 on the MAC leader board, No.15 in the East Region and No.29 in the NCAA. Target also placed 10th in the discus with a 48.84m throw.
 
Sean Torpy, Miami, 5000m
Junior – Orland Park, Illinois/Carl Sandburg
Torpy put together a personal-best run in the 5000m at NC State's Raleigh Relays on Friday, shaving over 20 seconds off of his previous PR with a 14:01.02. Torpy, a junior, finished 13th in the event and is now atop the MAC and 29th in the country in the event.
 
Crystal Washington, Eastern Michigan, Triple Jump/Long Jump
Sophomore – Los Angeles, California/Carson
Sophomore Crystal Washington recorded a career-best effort in the Triple Jump Saturday, March 30, at the Bobcat Invitational hosted by Texas State University. Washington's leap cleared 12.38m, not only her career-best effort but the best performance in the Triple Jump by a Mid-American Conference athlete this season. Her leap also ranks in the top-100 efforts seen in the NCAA this season. Washington also earned a 26th-place finish in the Long Jump, clearing 5.39m.
 
Jehvania Whyte, NIU, Triple Jump
Senior – Kingston, Jamaica/Vere Technical
Competing against an elite field at the Texas Relays, NIU senior Jehvania Whyte earned a sixth-place finish in the triple jump with a best mark of best mark of 13.33m (43-09.00), the top jump in the MAC this season. Whyte's mark was the ninth-best in the country this year and earned her a sixth-place finish in the competition, fifth among collegiate athletes.
 
Nicole Yeargin, Kent State, 100/4x2
Junior – Bowie, Maryland/Bishop McNamara
Nicole Yeargin was impressive in Kent State’s first outdoor meet of the season, winning the 100-meter dash in a MAC-leading time of 11.75, which is the 4th-fastest in school history. Running the race for the first time as a Golden Flash, Yeargin recorded the team's fastest time since 2003. She also anchored the 4x200 meter relay team that clocked a 1:37.96 to finish second.