Soman and Steineck Named MAC Scholar Athletes of the Week
May 22, 2003
CLEVELAND, OH- Ball State's Patricia Soman (track & field) and Akron's
Brady Steineck (baseball) were named the MAC Scholar Athletes of the
Week on May 19, 2003.
Soman (sprints and jumps, Sr., accounting, 3.79, Arlington, W.V.) led
the Cardinals to a sixth-place finish (among 13 teams) at the 2003
Mid-American Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships with 40
individual points and four event championships. Soman won the long jump
(20'9"), triple jump (42'8"), 100-meter dash (11.72) and 200-meter jump
(23.79), on her way to earning Most Valuable Performer in the meet. All
four efforts were NCAA regional qualifying marks. Soman also
participated on the 400 and 1600-meter relay teams, which placed fourth
in both events with times of (46.32) and (3:46.16), respectively. In
total, Soman had a hand in 50 of the Cardinals' 68 points in the meet.
Steineck (2B/OF, Jr., 3.96, biology/pre-med, Canton, Ohio) started all
four games and went 7-for-11 (.636) at the plate with two runs scored
and two doubles in Akron's four-game series at Miami last week. He
finished the weekend with an .818 slugging percentage and was 1-for-2 in
stolen base attempts. In Sunday's doubleheader Steineck was a perfect
4-for-4, going 3-for-3 with one run scored in game one and 1-for-1 with
one run scored in the second game. In single games on Friday and
Saturday, he was 1-for-3 and 2-for-4, respectively. Steineck raised his
batting average 30 points over the weekend, finishing the season at a
.296 clip at the plate.
The MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week honor is presented to a MAC male and
female student-athlete who has a cumulative grade point average of 3.0
or better and performs well during that week's competition. The winners
are selected by one of the conference's faculty athletic
representatives.
Female Nominees:
Bowling Green: Alicia Taylor (track and field, sprints/hurdles, Jr.,
3.27, health science, Cleveland Heights, Ohio) finished second in the
100-meter hurdles at the MAC Outdoor Track and Field Championships over
the weekend. In that event, she posted a regional-qualifying time of
13.84. Taylor will head to Columbus for the NCAA Regional event in late
May.
Buffalo: Laura Olson (track and field, pole vault, Jr., 3.01, sociology,
Lyons, N.Y.) became a Mid-American Conference champion with her winning
mark in the pole vault competition. Olson, the school record holder in
the pole vault, bettered her current record by a quarter-inch and won
the event by nearly four inches. Olson cleared 13'1-3/4" (4.01 meters)
to win the title, also establishing a Central Michigan University track
record.
Central Michigan: Jackie Bozin (track and field, heptathlon, Jr.,
business, 3.16, Washington, Mich.) earned second-team All-MAC honors as
she was second in the heptathlon at the Mid-American Conference Track
and Field Championship meet last weekend. She racked up 5,088 points in
the seven-event heptathlon. She provisionally qualified for the NCAA
Championship meet.
Kent State: Jeanna Fascione (track and field, middle distance, So.,
4.00, undecided, North Royalton, Ohio) finished fifth in the 1500 meters
(4:32.12) and seventh in the 800 meters (2:14.80) and ran a leg of the
1600-meter relay that finished eighth at the 2003 MAC Outdoor
Championships May 17. She helped lead the Kent State women to a
fourth-place finish at the meet. Fascione is one of 11 KSU athletes that
qualified for the NCAA Regionals in Columbus on May 30-31. She will
compete in the 800 meters.
Miami: Lauren Collins (track & field, Jr., 3.53, interdisciplinary
studies, Indianapolis, Ind.) earned the Most Valuable Performance at the
MAC Tournament after she scored 28 individual points. Collins' personal
record throw of 193'07" in the hammer crushed the MAC meet record by
nearly nine feet and also the track record by the same distance for
first place. Collins' throw also beat the Miami record by almost 21
feet. In the shot put, Collins broke the Miami school record with a mark
of 49'01.5" to also give Miami 10 points for first place. Collins took
second in the discus with a 153'10" mark.
Male Nominees:
Bowling Green: Kevin Longstreth (baseball, catcher, So., 3.40,
recreation, Middle Point, Ohio) hit .364 on the week, going 4-for-11 as
the Falcons split a four-game series versus Toledo. He scored three runs
and had two RBI and was perfect in 14 chances in the field. Longstreth
hit .450 over the final two weeks of the regular season (9-for-20). He
went 2-for-5 with three runs scored and an RBI in BG's 14-4 win over the
Rockets at Fifth Third Field to close the season. Longstreth was 2-for-2
in Saturday's opening game against UT, driving in a run. He was also hit
by a pitch in that game. He ended the season with a .267 batting
average.
Buffalo: Bryan Weinstein (track and field, sprints, So., 3.70,
management, Getzville, N.Y.) ran the opening legs of both of UB's relay
entries at the MAC Championships. The 1600-meter relay team turned in a
second-place finish of 3:12.66, just a second shy of the school record
set in 1995. The 400-meter relay team took fifth place with a time of
41.53, tying the school record set last season. Weinstein finished 19th
in his lone individual race, the 100 meters, in 11.06.
Central Michigan: Michael Sidlauskas (track and field, throws, So.,
outdoor recreation, 3.55, Sparta, Mich.) scored in two events at the
Mid-American Conference Track and Field Championship meet last weekend
which helped lead the Chippewas to their first ever MAC title.
Sidlauskus was the discus throw champion and first team All-MAC honoree
with a 169'2" effort and was fourth in the hammer throw with a 187'10"
toss. His hammer throw score was an NCAA regional qualifying mark.
Kent State: Brian Hallett (track and field, throws, Sr., 3.76,
industrial technology, Norton, Ohio) won his second straight MAC
Outdoor shot put title at the MAC Championships on May 17 with a
regional qualifying mark of 59'9.3/4". The mark also broke the CMU Lyle
Bennett Track record that was previously held by Dale Cowper (58'3") of
Western Michigan in 2001. Hallett now holds six career MAC titles in the
shot put, three indoor (1999, 2002, 2003) and three outdoor (1999, 2002
and 2003) titles.
Toledo: J.R. Duffey (baseball, pitcher, So., undeclared, 3.14. Columbus,
Ohio) earned the victory in Friday's 4-3 win over Bowling Green in the
opener of a four-game series, allowing three runs (just one earned) on
eight hits in his team-leading fourth complete game of the season. He
walked a pair and recorded three strikeouts, while improving to 4-2 in
2003.
Previous Winners:
Female
Week 1 (Sept. 4) Katie Kuzor, UA (volleyball)
Week 2 (Sept. 10) Andrea Kremer, MIA (cross country)
Week 3 (Sept. 17) Jennifer Nighswander, EMU (volleyball)
Week 4 (Sept. 24) Susan McDowell, BSU (field hockey)
Week 5 (Oct. 1) Jennifer Nighswander, EMU (volleyball)
Week 6 (Oct. 8) Lisa D'Amelio, EMU (tennis)
Week 7 (Oct. 15) Jennifer Eaton, MIA (volleyball)
Week 8 (Oct. 22) Erika Flanders, BGSU (soccer)
Week 9 (Oct. 28) Anna-Lesa Calvert, UB (soccer)
Week 10 (Nov. 5) Tara Buroker, MIA (volleyball)
Week 11 (Nov. 12) Melanie Peters, WMU (tennis)
Week 12 (Nov. 19) Briana Shook, UT (cross country)
Week 13 (Nov. 26) Heather Cusick, MIA (basketball)
Week 14 (Dec. 3) Valerie Zona, KSU (basketball)
Week 15 (Dec. 10) Colleen Day, MIA (basketball)
Week 16 (Jan. 7) Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe, UB (basketball)
Week 17 (Jan. 14) Sarah Dame, CMU (gymnastics)
Week 18 (Jan. 22) Sara Burtinsky, CMU (gymnastics)
Week 19 (Jan. 23) Biaunca McFarland, UB (track & field)
Week 20 (Feb. 4) Emily Frasco, Ohio (swimming & diving)
Week 21 (Feb. 11) Lauren Collins, MIA (track & field)
Week 22 (Feb. 18) Patricia Somen, BSU (track & field)
Week 23 (Feb. 25) Kate McMeeken-Ruscoe, UB (basketball)
Week 24 (Mar. 4) Alice Sukner, MAR (tennis)
Week 25 (Mar. 11) Rachel Martin, UB (basketball)
Week 26 (Mar. 18) Ann Magur, UB (softball)
Week 27 (Mar. 25) Kate Leary, KSU (softball)
Week 28 (Apr. 1) Kara Reighard, CMU (gymnastics)
Week 29 (Apr. 8) Lea Dorto, KSU (softball)
Week 30 (Apr. 15) Sarah Dame, CMU (gymnastics)
Week 31 (Apr. 22) Frederika Girsang, WMU (tennis)
Week 32 (Apr. 29) Laura Stewart, WMU (softball)
Week 33 (May 6) Katie Shea, BSU (softball)
Week 34 (May 13) Laura Stewart, WMU (softball)
Week 35 (May 19) Patricia Soman, BSU (track & field)
Male
Week 1 (Sept. 4) Maurio Medley, KSU (football)
Week 2 (Sept. 10) Todd Ludden, UB (cross country)
Week 3 (Sept. 17) Josh Harris, BGSU (football)
Week 4 (Sept. 24) Curtis Head, MAR (football)
Week 5 (Oct. 1) Ryan Maarschalk, WMU (tennis)
Week 6 (Oct. 8) Josh Harris, BGSU (football)
Week 7 (Oct. 15) Boaz Cheboiywo, EMU (cross country)
Week 8 (Oct. 22) Chris Tuminello, UT (football)
Week 9 (Oct. 28) Chris Haneline, BGSU (football)
Week 10 (Nov. 5) Rickey McKenzie, UA (football)
Week 11 (Nov. 12) Sean Joyce, EMU (swimming)
Week 12 (Nov. 19) Boaz Cheboiywo, EMU (cross country)
Week 13 (Nov. 26) Jimmy Fryzel, UCF (football)
Week 14 (Dec. 3) Eric Haut, KSU (basketball)
Week 15 (Dec. 10) Tim Schenke, MIA (basketball)
Week 16 (Jan. 7) John Reimold, BGSU (basketball)
Week 17 (Jan. 14) Nick Ziezula, UB (tennis)
Week 18 (Jan. 22) Kelly Ball, MIA (swimming & diving)
Week 19 (Jan. 28) Pete Remien, CMU (track & field)
Week 20 (Feb. 4) Dave Bergen, MIA (swimming)
Week 21 (Feb. 11) Paul Hodermarsky, Ohio (wrestling)
Week 22 (Feb. 18) Turner Battle, UB (basketball)
Week 23 (Feb. 25) Anthony Kann, WMU (basketball)
Week 24 (Mar. 4) Jason Evelyn, WMU (track & field)
Week 25 (Mar. 11) Lorant Divald, UT (swimming)
Week 26 (Mar. 18) Brady Steineck, UA (baseball)
Week 27 (Mar. 25) Brian Godsey, MIA (track & field)
Week 28 (Apr. 1) Ryan Maarschalk, WMU (tennis)
Week 29 (Apr. 8) Chris Bova, Ohio (baseball)
Week 30 (Apr. 15) Kevin Burnett, BSU (tennis)
Week 31 (Apr. 22) David Mitchell, MIA (track & field)
Week 32 (Apr. 29) Mitch Maier, UT (baseball)
Week 33 (May 9) Shaun Peet, OH (baseball)
Week 34 (May 13) Adam Fox, OH (baseball)
Week 35 (May 19) Brady Steineck, MIA (baseball)
