Men's Track Athlete of the Week
Alex Shields, Kent State, Track
Sophomore, Orlando, Fla./The First Academy
Alex Shields clocked a personal-best 14.14 seconds at the Raleigh Relays in his outdoor season opener, the fastest wind-legal 110-meter hurdles time by a MAC athlete this year. Shields’ time is the best by a Kent State hurdler since 2016 and tied for the fifth-fastest time in school history.
Men's Field Athlete of the Week
Hunter Garretson, Akron, Field
Freshman, Newcomerstown, Ohio
Akron freshman Hunter Garretson equaled a career-best mark of 17-6.50 (5.35m) to place fourth in the men's pole vault at the Texas Relays on Thursday, March 24. His effort matches the No. 4 mark in outdoor program history, while ranking as the No. 8 performance in the NCAA this season and top clearance in the MAC. His mark equaled the second-best mark in the competition.
Women's Track Athlete of the Week
Kadeja Campbell, Northern Illinois, Track
Senior, St. Ann, Jamaica
Kadeja Campbell posted a pair of top-five finishes at the Bobcat Invitational, taking third in the 400-meter dash and fourth in the 200 meters. Campbell ran a time of 54.53 seconds in the 400, behind only Bianca Stubler of Wisconsin (53.42) and Iowa State's Bria Barnes (54.40). Meanwhile in the 200, Campbell posted a time of 24.23 seconds, just over a quarter-second off the winning time of unattached competitor Melissa Gonzalez (23.97).
Women's Field Athlete of the Week
Jacqueline Pokuaah, Akron, Field
Junior, Akron, Ohio
Akron junior Jacqueline Pokuaah registered a school-record mark of 44-4.75 (13.53m) en route to winning the women's triple jump to headline the Zips' performances at the Texas Relays on Friday, March 25.
Pokuaah's performance stands as the No. 3 mark in the NCAA this season and bests the former school record of 42-7.50 (12.99m) set by Arianda Ramos Gandia in 2016. Her winning effort came on her fourth attempt of the competition, with each of her final five marks exceeding the previous school-record mark.
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Other Nominees
Ryan Buzby, Buffalo, Track
Senior, Grand Island, N.Y. / Grand Island
Ryan Buzby ran a personal best time of 14:30.06 at the Raleigh Relays in the 5,000-meter run. His time ranks third in the MAC.
Tajay Roberts, Eastern Michigan, Track
Freshman, Sunrise, Fla./Dillard
Freshman Tajay Roberts paced the Eagles in the 400m dash, crossing the finish line in 48.52 for third at the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational, March 26. Roberts also placed 11th in his first ever collegiate 200m dash, recording a time of 21.90. The freshman's 400 time ranks second in the MAC while his 200 is third.
Jacob Ondash, Akron, Track
Senior, Hiram, Ohio
Akron senior Jacob Ondash registered a career-best time of 3:47.83 in the men's 1,500 to finish fourth in the fifth-fastest time in outdoor program history at the Texas Relays on Thursday, March 24. His performance stands as the fastest time in the MAC this season and No. 82 mark overall in the NCAA during the outdoor campaign.
Brandon Burke, Buffalo, Field
Fifth Year, Churchville, N.Y. / Byron- Bergen
Brandon Burke had a great start to the 2022 outdoor season as he won the men’s high jump at the Raleigh Relays with a height of 2.15-meters/7'-00.50". His jump ranks him first in the MAC and currently ties him for eighth in the NCAA.
Alexandre Malanda, Kent State, Field
Freshman, Paris, France
Alexandre Malanda was victorious in his collegiate outdoor debut, winning the triple jump at the Raleigh Relays with a mark of 15.68m (51’-5.5”) that puts him at No. 12 on the national performance list and ranks fifth in Kent State history. Malanda jumped at least 15.15m on all six of his attempts and captured first ahead of NC State’s Chris Alexander, an All-American in the event during the 2022 indoor season.
Baboucar Sallah-Mohammed, Eastern Michigan, Field
Senior, Windhoek, Namibia/Fishburne Military (Va.)
Senior Baboucar Sallah-Mohammed finished third in the triple jump (15.35m) and fourth in the long jump (7.18m) at the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational, March 26. The marks both sit third in the Mid-American Conference. No one else in the league has top-3 performances in both categories.
Karlie Zumbro, Ball State, Track
Senior, Zanesville, Ohio/John Glenn
Karlie Zumbro set a personal best in the 400-meter hurdles and won her heat with a time 1:01.51, placing second overall. That mark stands as the second-fastest time in the MAC thus far into outdoor season and bested her previous-best mark of 1:03.60. Zumbro also competed in the javelin throw and finished fifth with a throw of 35.27m, good for her second-farthest throw of the season.
Riley Jones, Buffalo, Track
Senior, Holland, N.Y. / Holland
Riley Jones ran a 30-second personal best in the 5,000-meter run. Jones went on to win her heat at Raleigh Relays in 17:01.32. Her time ranks eighth in the MAC.
Rebecca McNamee, Western Michigan, Track
Senior, Marquette, Mich./Marquette
McNamee opened the outdoor season with a win in the 1,500-meter run at the Texas State Bobcat Invite. The fifth-year senior ran a time of 4:39.25 to claim her first win of the year. The time is also the fourth-fastest she has run in her career in the event.
Benja Duff, Kent State, Track
Redshirt Senior, Columbus, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln
Benja Duff opened the outdoor season with a personal-best 13.99 seconds in the 100-meter hurdles at the Raleigh Relays. Duff is one of only two MAC athletes to break 14.00 seconds this year and is No 8 on Kent State’s all-time performance list.
Stephanie Pierce, Ohio University, Track
Senior, Fairborn, Ohio/Beavercreek
Senior Stephanie Pierces continues to set personal-bests and records as she enters the outdoor season. Pierce ran a 4:31.07, which is the fifth fastest 1500m time in OHIO's history. The Fairborn native ran her final 400 in 67.3 to secure 85th place out of 196 athletes.
Sofia Ivanko, Eastern Michigan University, Track
Junior, Buenos Aires, Argentina/St. Matthew's College
Junior Sofia Ivanko highlighted the first day of the Raleigh Relays, March 24, by producing a career-best time of 35:15.15 in the 10,000m race. Moreover, Ivanko's time is the fourth-best in program history. Previously, the junior's best time in the event was 36:18.70, set at the 2021 Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championships, May 7.
Alyssa Thomas, Akron, Track
Senior, Uniontown, Ohio
Akron senior Alyssa Thomas posted the third-fastest time in outdoor program history in the women's 5,000 meters crossing the line seventh in a career-best time of 16:45.37. Her effort stands as the fifth-fastest time in the MAC this season and best for a Zip since 2008.
Jenelle Rogers, Ball State, Field
Sophomore, Oswego, Ill./Oswego
Jenelle Rogers had a collegiate best long jump of 5.64 meters, good for second overall. That mark stands fourth on the MAC outdoor performance list thus far into the season and topped her previous-best mark of 5.40m. Rogers also set a personal best in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 16.19, which improved from her previous-best time of 16.94.
Zaria Fuller, Buffalo, Field
Junior, Hempstead, N.Y. / Uniondale
Zaria Fuller jumped an outdoor personal best mark of 1.70-meters/5'-07.00" to place sixth overall in the field of 38 competitors in the high jump. Her mark ties her for second in the MAC.
Kaila Butler, Bowling Green, Field
Senior, Port Coquitlam, B.C. (Terry Fox Secondary)
Notched a PR in the hammer at the Raleigh Relays with a throw of 67.28m. The throw is the best in the MAC and the sixth-best in the nation thus far. It is the sixth-farthest throw in program history and only former BGSU athlete Brooke Pleger has a farther hammer toss.
Placed third at the Raleigh Relays, but one of the athletes that finished ahead was not attached to a school.
Kenyae Majors, Northern Illinois, Field
RS Senior, Burlington, N.C. / Hugh Cummings
Kenyae Majors earned top-10 finishes in both the triple jump and long jump at Texas State’s Bobcat Invitational. Majors claimed seventh in the triple jump with a top mark of 12.08 meters and finished eighth in the long jump with a leap that measured 5.81 meters.
Kadian Clarke, Eastern Michigan University, Field
Senior, Kingston, Jamaica/Immaculate Conception
Senior thrower Kadian Clarke continues to have a stellar year as she crushed her school-record shot put mark of 14.83m with a 15.51m toss for fourth at the Hurricane Collegiate Invitational, March 26. Additionally, the senior placed second in the hammer throw with a mark of 56.92m, and rounded out the top 10 in the discus throw (38.39m). Clarke currently ranks second in the MAC in the hammer throw, third in the shot put, and 15th in the discus.
