Men's Track Athlete of the Week
Baldvin Magnusson, Eastern Michigan, Track
Junior, Akureyri, Iceland/Hull University
Junior Baldvin Magnusson highlighted the night for the Eagles at the Bryan Clay Invitational, April 14, with a personal-best 5000m time of 13:32.47, an Icelandic national record. The performance beats former Eagle Hlynur Andresson's 13:41.06 effort from last summer. Additionally, Magnusson's 5K time is the second-fastest time in program history. Magnusson's 13:32.47 effort also ranks first in the MAC by over 16 seconds and is 16th in the nation.
Men's Field Athlete of the Week
Nuh Andu, Akron, Field
Junior, Doha, Qatar
Akron junior Nuh Andu registered a season-best mark of 6-11 (2.11m) to garner a second-place finish in the men's high jump at the Beach Invitational in Long Beach, Calif., on Saturday, April 16. His effort stands as the No. 2 mark in the Mid-American Conference season this season and No. 43 mark in the NCAA this spring.
Women's Track Athlete of the Week
Fegor Clifford, Akron, Track
Freshman, Delta State, Nigeria
Akron freshman Fegor Clifford set a school record in the women's 400-meter hurdles at the Beach Invitational in Long Beach, Cali., on Saturday, April 16, crossing the line in a career-best time of 57.41. Her performance topped the school-record time of 57.61 set by Jackie Siefring six years ago to the day on April 16, 2016. Her effort stands as the top-rated mark in the Mid-American Conference this season and the No. 14 performance in the NCAA this spring.
Women's Field Athlete of the Week
Gabby Bailey, Kent State, Field
Senior, Portmore, Jamaica/St. Jago
Gabby Bailey’s impressive performance at the Tiffin Track Carnival included victories in the discus throw and shot put. Bailey won the discus with a MAC-leading toss of 55.37m (181’-8”) that puts her 19th on the national performance list. Her winning shot put throw went 15.84m (51’-11.75”), a mark only one other MAC thrower has achieved this season.
-
-
Other Nominees
Tal Hamel, Buffalo, Track
Freshman, Delmar, N.Y. / Bethlehem
Tal Hamel ran a personal best in both the 400 and 200-meter dashes at the Bucknell Bison Classic. His time in the 400-meter dash of 49.55-seconds is fifth in the MAC, and in the 200-meter dash, his time of 22.19-seconds is sixth in the MAC.
Jimmy Harkelroad, Akron, Track
Freshman, Huron, Ohio
Akron freshman Jimmy Harkelroad established a school record in the men's 400-meter hurdles at the Beach Invitational in Long Beach, Calif., on Saturday, April 16, in a career-best time of 51.14. His performance edged the school-record time of 51.51 set by Mike Meditz on April 21, 2007. His effort stands as the top-rated time in the Mid-American Conference this season and the No. 24 mark in the NCAA this spring.
Luke Finnegan, Miami, Track
Senior, Westerville, Ohio, Westerville Central
Finnegan finished in first place in the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.42 at the Cherry Blossom Invitational in Athens, Ohio this past Saturday afternoon. Harders finished first out of 17 competitors and is currently ranked fourth in the MAC.
Danil Chernov, Buffalo, Field
Junior, Brooklyn, N.Y. / Stuyvesant High
Danil Chernov threw a 3-meter personal best in the javelin at the Bucknell Bison Classic. His distance of 60.81-meters/199’-6” ranks third in the MAC.
Joe Duff, Eastern Michigan, Field
Senior, Croswell, Mich./Crosswell-Lexington
Joe Duff set a stadium record at Siena Heights University with a personal-best javelin throw of 63.05m for first place. For Duff, his mark is the sixth-furthest in program history. Additionally, the senior's throw ranks second in the MAC.
Ryan Smith, Miami, Field
Junior, Cincinnati, Ohio, Moeller
Ryan Smith captured first place in the javelin (56.45m) and hammer (55.85m) at the CalState LA Twilight in Long Beach, Calif. this past week. Smith is now ranked seventh in the hammer and fifth in the javelin in the MAC.
Jenna Oriani, Ball State, Track
Freshman, Chardon, Ohio/Chardon
Jenna Oriani picked up a pair of event wins in the 100-meter dash and the 200-meter dash at the We Fly Challenge. Both wins were the first of her career, either in indoor or outdoor. Oriani set a personal-best in the 100m at 11.89. She also set a personal-best mark of 24.37 in the 200m. Both rankings are currently in the top 10 in the MAC.
Peyton Korytkowski, Central Michigan, Track
RS Freshman, Rockford, Mich./Rockford HS
Redshirt freshman Peyton Korytkowski led the CMU track & field team at the Ball State We Fly Challenge on Saturday with a second-place finish in the 100-meter dash and a fifth-place finish in the 200. Korytkowski's 100 time, 12.05 seconds, was a career best and the ninth-best by a Mid-American Conference sprinter in the event this season. Her wind-aided 200 time, 24.83, was also the best of her career and ranks as the 12th-best in the league in the 2022 outdoor season.
Riley Jones, Buffalo, Track
Senior Holland, N.Y. / Holland
Riley Jones ran a personal best time of 4:36.57 in the 1,500-meter run at the Bucknell Bison Classic, ranking 16th in the MAC. She also ran a personal best in the 800-meter run of 2:17.31, 22nd in the MAC.
Katerina Shuble, Bowling Green, Track
Junior, LaPorte, Ind.
Shuble’s time is the second-best in the MAC this year and the second-best in program history, just 0.90 behind Tracy Gaerke's 1989 record of 4:24.03
Skylynn Blue, Northern Illinois, Track
Sophomore, Indianapolis, Ind. / North Central
Skylynn Blue posted the fastest time in the MAC in the 200 meters and the second-fastest time in the 100 meters at Florida’s Tom Jones Memorial. In the 200, Blue ran a personal best time of 23.67 seconds, nearly a half-second ahead of teammate Malia Watkins (24.16) who recorded the league’s second-fastest time of the year at Florida. Blue then ran 11.79 in the 100 meters, second-best in the conference this season.
Faith Rono, Eastern Michigan University, Track
Junior, Eldoret, Kenya
Junior Faith Rono capped off the day for Eastern in the 5K at the Bryan Clay Invitational, April 14th, finishing in 16:30.20 for eighth. The time is a personal best and ranks fourth in the MAC.
Lucca Agate, Miami, Track
Sophomore, Toronto, Ontario
Lucca Agate finished in third place in the 200-meter (25.26) and 400-meter (56.37) races at the Cherry Blossom Invitational in Athens, Tenn. this past Saturday afternoon. Agate was also a part of the 4x100 relay and 4x400 relay which both placed second.
Taylor Strnad, Ohio University, Field
Graduate Student, Brook Park, Ohio/Berea Midpark
Graduate student Taylor Strnad won the high jump at the Cherry Blossom Invitational this past Saturday (April 16). Ranked among the top high jumpers in the MAC, Taylor is consistent for the Bobcats every invitational and continues to improve each week.
Karlie Zumbro, Ball State, Field
Senior, Zanesville, Ohio/John Glenn
Zumbro had a personal-best javelin throw of 37.95 meters and an event win at the We Fly Challenge. The throw was nearly a full meter better than her previous best of 36.97m. Her mark ranks seventh in the conference, despite her not being listed as a javelin thrower and instead as a multi-event specialist. In addition, Zumbro won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:01.82.
Zaria Fuller, Buffalo, Field
Junior, Hempstead, N.Y. / Uniondale
In her first attempt, Zaria Fuller won the women’s heptathlon with a score of 4,939 points, which is fourth in the MAC. Her high jump mark of 5’-09.25”/1.76-meters ties her for 27th in the NCAA East Region, and second in the MAC. She had personal best marks in the shot put, high jump, and javelin throw during the competition.
Jazmyn Smith, Northern Illinois, Field
Senior, Pinecrest, Fla. / Gulliver Prep
Jazmyn Smith set a new school record in the long jump at Florida’s Tom Jones Memorial. Smith leaped 6.08 meters (19-11.50) to finish second in the long jump at the meet. Her best mark of the competition came on her second attempt of the day and bettered the previous school record of 6.06 meters (19-10.75) that she also owned and set at the Drake Relays on April 23, 2021.
Quintella Johnson, Eastern Michigan University, Field
Senior, Las Vegas, Nev./Saint Mary's
Senior Quintella Johnson leaped to a season-best high jump mark of 1.70m at the Mt. SAC Relays, April 15th. Her clearance currently ties for third in the MAC.
Jacqueline Pokuaah, Akron, Field
Junior, Akron, Ohio
Akron junior Jacqueline Pokuaah posted the fourth-best mark in outdoor program history in the women's long jump with a career-best leap of 20-3.75 (6.19m) to highlight the Zips' efforts at the Mt. Sac Relays on Friday, April 15. Her performance is the top-rated mark in the Mid-American Conference this season and No. 33 mark in the NCAA this spring.
Kaila Butler, Bowling Green, Field
Senior, Port Coquitlam, British Columbia (Terry Fox Secondary)
Butler finished No. 6 in the hammer at the famed Mt. Sac Relays. Her throw is second in the MAC, only to her PR from a couple of weeks ago. Her toss of 62.43 in the prelims advanced her to the finals.
Allie Filiatraut, Miami, Field
Senior, Livonia, Mich., Divine Child
Allie Filiatraut captured second place in the javelin with a throw of 38.44-meters at the Cherry Blossom Invitational in Athens, Ohio this past Saturday afternoon. She also placed seventh in the discus with a throw of 38.97-meters. Filiatraut is now ranked sixth in the MAC for the javelin event.
