Men's Field Athlete of the Week
Taige Bryant, Eastern Michigan
Grad, Edmond, Oaklahoma
Graduate student Taige Bryant (Edmond, Okla.-Edmond Memorial) put on a clinic at the Raleigh Relays, March 25-27. The Oklahoma native produced a hammer throw of 66.01m, surpassing former Eagle Keith Williams' 64.28 for the best throw in the event in EMU history. Additionally, Bryant's discus throw of 53.01m puts him second in the EMU record book. His hammer throw mark ranks first in the Mid-American Conference and 13th in the NCAA. In the discus, his distance is first in the MAC and 49th in Division I.
Men's Track Athete of the Week
Finley Mclear, Miami
Junior, Cullompton, England (Exeter College)
Mclear, running in the 800 meters, placed first in the event with a time of 1:47.43. In a field of 65 runners, this was enough to give Mclear a new meet record for the Raleigh Relays, as well as the new Mid-American and NCAA top time in the event.
Women's Field Athlete of the Week
Kaila Butler, Bowling Green
Sr., Port Coquitlam, B.C. / Terry Fox Secondary
Kaila Butler threw a season-best 212-feet-10 (64.88m) to place third at the prestigious Texas Relays. Butler's mark is first in the MAC this year by more than 14 feet and ranks No. 10 in the country. A second-team All-American two years ago, Butler will be a contender for All-American honors again in 2021.
Women's Track Athlete of the Week
Olivia Bechtel, Miami
Senior, Bay Village, Ohio (Bay)
Olivia Bechtel, running in the 400m, placed first in the event with a time of 53.31. In a field of 34 runners, this was enough to give Bechtel the top mark in the Mid-American Conference by almost three seconds.Bechtel continued her success on the final day, finishing eighth in the 200-meter event, with a time of 23.88, the new best time in the MAC.
Other Nominees
Benjamon Cardamone, Buffalo
Graduate Student, Elmira, N.Y. / Elmira
Ben Cardamone won the men’s 1,500-meter run in a personal best time of 3:51.91. This ranks him seventh on the UB All-time list and ranks fourth in the MAC.
Sam Wray, Buffalo
Fifth Year, Senior, Lockport, N.Y. / Starpoint
Sam Wray won the men’s discus throw with a toss of 168’-07” (51.38-meters). His mark is third in the MAC.
Aniya Davis, ?Western Michigan
Senior, Grand Rapids, Mich./Ottawa Hills
Over the weekend at the ADIDAS Winthrop Invitational she threw a distance of 158' 11" (48.44m) to claim the top spot. Davis currently ranks second in the MAC in the event.
Samantha Hjelmar, Buffalo
Graduate Student, Glenville, N.Y. / Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake
Sam Hjelmar won the women’s high jump in a height of 5’-05.75” (1.67-meters). She ranks second in the MAC.
Miranda Cadwell, Eastern Michigan
Sophomore, Plainfield, Ill./Plainfield
At the Raleigh Relays, sophomore Miranda Cadwell (Plainfield, Ill.-Plainfield South) put on a show in her first collegiate outdoor meet, March 25-27. The Illinois native displayed her skills in the discus, hurling a throw of 44.14m to set a new school record. The previous record at EMU of 43.96m was set by former Eagle Jada Taylor in 2016. Cadwell's discus performance is the sixth-best in the Mid-American Conference in the young season.
Kasey Staley, Central Michigan
Redshirt Junior, Farwell, Mich./Clare HS
Central Michigan redshirt junior Kasey Staley cleared 4.00 meters (13 feet, 1 1/2 inches) on Saturday at the Texas State Bobcat Invitational. Her vault shattered her previous career best (3.68 meters/12 feet, 1 inch) and ranks No. 1 in the Mid-American Conference and 34th nationally in the 2021 outdoor season. Her vault was just shy of the CMU program record of 4.05 meters (13 feet, 3 3/4 inches).
Abby Moore, Ohio
Senior, Rootstown, Ohio
Senior Abby Moore (Rootstown, Ohio) of the Ohio track & field team opened the 2021 outdoor season with a pair of strong performances at the Raleigh Relays. Moore placed third in the shot put with a toss of 14.95 meters and seventh in the hammer throw with a career-best mark of 59.36 meters.
Juliane Sormain, Western Michigan
Senior, Cachan, France
Juliane Sormain claimed her first victory of the outdoor season after winning the 800-meter run at the ADIDAS Winthrop Invitational on Friday. She ran a season-best time of 2:13.10, which ranks second in the MAC. She also took third overall in the 400-meter dash with a personal-best time of 58.06 seconds. Sormain rounded out the weekend helping the 4x400m relay team to a second place finish.
Sydney March, Buffalo
Graduate Student, Tomkins Cove, N.Y. / North Rockland
Sydney March won the 400-meter dash in a personal best time of 56.59-seconds. Her time was over three seconds faster than the second-place finisher. She ranks sixth in the MAC.
Savannah Nevels, Bowling Green
Sr., Streetsboro, Ohio / Streetsboro
Savannah Nevels ran the third leg of the 1600 relay team that broke BGSU's school record in the event twice over the weekend and won the prestigious Texas Relays. In the prelims, Nevels and her teammates broke the school record with a time of 3:43.34 before improving that time by more than six seconds in the finals. Nevels, along with Chasatea Brown, Ryen Draper and Iyanna Ross ran the fastest 1600 relay time in the MAC in nine years with a 3:37.27 to take first place at the Texas Relays. That mark ranks 14th in the country this year and is more than seven seconds faster than any other team in the conference. Nevels also ran on the 400 relay team that posted the eighth-fastest time in school history (46.25 seconds) and posted a time of 24.58 seconds in the 200
Bryeana Byrdsong, BSU
Senior, Indianapolis, Ind.
Byrdsong put her name at or near the top of the MAC leaderboards in three events at the Raleigh Relays. After her performances over the weekend, the 5th-year senior now owns the MAC's best time in the 100m (11.75) and is second in the 200m (24.00). She is also on the 4x100 relay at BSU that on Thursday put up the second-best time in school history, 45.26, which is the best time in the MAC so far.
Mackenzie Callahan, NIU
Senior, Minooka, Ill. / Minooka
Mackenzie Callahan posted top-two conference performances in both the 800 and 1,500 meters as NIU opened its outdoor season at the Texas Relays. In the 800, Callahan ran a time of 2:09.78, the best mark in the conference this season, to finish 13th in the 38-runner field. The NIU senior then recorded a fifth-place finish in the invitational final of the 1,500 meters at the Texas Relays, recording a time of 4:28.93, the second-best mark in the MAC this season.
Ashleigh Kitrell, Ohio
Sr., Oakland, Neb. (Oakland Craig)
Senior Ashleigh Kitrell (Oakland, Neb.) of the Ohio track & field team opened the 2021 outdoor season with strong performance in the 400-meter hurdles at the Raleigh Relays, setting a school record with a time of 58.13.
Semra Karaslan, University of Toledo
Junior, Kirikkale, Turkey
Junior Semra Karaslan had a strong performance in the 3000m Steeplechase with a personal-best time of 10:15.19 at the Raleigh Relays on Saturday. She currently ranks first in the MAC for the outdoor season and 9th in the NCAA. She also ran in the 1500m with a personal-best time of 4:23.05 ranking first in the MAC for the outdoor season.
