MAC Women’s Track Athlete of the Week
Abby Suszek, Miami, Senior, Mentor, Ohio/ Cornerstone Christian Academy
Event: Music City Challenge
Results: 400-meter/1st; 200-meter/2nd | 53.09 seconds/ 24.00 seconds | 1st/47th; 4th/120th
Abby Suszek led the way for the RedHawks at the Music City Challenege as she had multiple top-two finishes throughout the weekend. In the women’s 400-meter dash, Suszek finished in first place with a personal best time of 53.09 seconds. Suszek beat her previous time that she set last weekend by .27 seconds, and she is now only .02 seconds back of first place in RedHawk history for the 400-meter dash. Suszek is now ranked first in the MAC and 47th in the country for the 400-meter dash. She also finished in second place in the women's 200-meter dash with a time of 24.00 seconds. Suszek is ranked fourth in the MAC and 120th in the country for the 200-meter dash.
MAC Women’s Field Athlete of the Week
Keeli Dunaway, Kent State, Junior, Lombard, Ill./Glenbard East
Event: Doug Raymond Invitational | Triple Jump/1st | 12.64m (41' 5.75") | 1st/75
Keeli Dunaway won the triple jump at the Doug Raymond Invitational with a personal-best of 12.64m (41' 5.75") that ranks 70th in the NCAA and moves her into a tie for the No. 4 spot in the Kent State record book.
MAC Women’s Track Athlete of the Week Nominees
Mercy Jebitok, Akron, Fr., Kapsabet, Kenya
Event: David Hemery Valentine Invitational
Results: 5,000M-58th | 16:23.67 | 3/110
Akron freshman Mercy Jebitok registered a school-record time of 16:23.67 in the women's 5,000 meters at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational.
Jenna Oriani, Ball State, Senior, Chardon, Ohio / Chardon
Event: Windy City Invite
Results: 400m Invite – First | 54.60 | 6th MAC/11th NCAA Great Lakes
Jenna Oriani ran an excellent 400-meter race at the Windy City Invite, finishing first with a new best time of 54.60. With her new PR time, Oriani continues climbing in the record book, now holding the second fastest Ball State indoor 400-meter time. She also finished 12th in the 200-meter dash with a time of 24.47.
Kylee Cubbison, Bowling Green, Jr., Lewistown, Pa. / Mifflin County
Event: GVSU Big Meet
Results: Mile (4th), DMR (3rd) | Mile (4:42.53), DMR (11:21.85) | Mile (2nd in MAC, 13th in Great Lakes Region), DMR (1st in MAC, 3rd in Great Lakes Region, 26th in Division I)
Cubbison had quite the weekend for the BGSU Falcons. During the Friday session of the GVSU Big Meet, the junior ran a mile time of 4:42.53 to break the program record set by Reese Reaman just two weeks prior. Cubbison's mark ranks second in the MAC and 13th in the region. Then on Saturday, Cubbison was the anchor leg of the DMR quartet consisting also of Reaman, Kiersten Franklin and Rachael Hoover that went a 11:21.85, which broke a 26-year-old program record. That mark ranks first in the MAC, third in the region and 26th in Division I. The 11:21.85 is 16 seconds better than the second-best MAC team.
Chesney Wilke, Central Michigan, So., Tecumseh, Mich. / Tecumseh
Event: David Hemery Valentine Invitational
Results: 800m - 80th | 2:12.74 | MAC: 14th
Sophomore Chesney Wilke ran the seventh-fastest 800m in Central Michigan Indoor Track and Field history on Saturday at Boston University’s David Hemery Valentine Invitational. She placed 80th in the 211-competitor race with a 2:12.74 finish. Wilke is currently 14th in conference rankings in the event and 45th in the Great Lakes region.
Saraiah Walkes, Eastern Michigan, Sr., Manatee County, Fla.
Event: Tiger Paw Invitational
Results: 200m - 5th, 400m - 6th | 200m (23.63), 400m (53.38) | 200m: MAC: 1st, NCAA: n/a | 400m: MAC: 3rd, NCAA: n/a
Eastern Michigan senior sprinter Saraiah Walkes ran the MAC’s fastest 200m time this season, finishing in fifth out of 57 competitors in 23.63 at the Tiger Paw Invitational, hosted by Clemson, Feb. 14-15. Walkes also ran the conference’s third-fastest 400m, placing sixth out of 44 student-athletes in 53.38. Both of Walkes’ times stand as the second-fastest in EMU indoor program history and mark a personal-best. Additionally, Walkes’ was the highest non-power five finisher in both events.
Amryne Chilton, Kent State, So., Gahanna, Ohio/Gahanna Lincoln
Event: Doug Raymond Invitational
Results: 60m/1st; 200m/1st | 7.44; 23.86 | 130th; 126th
Amryne Chilton broke the school record and tied the facility record in the 60m dash with a MAC-best time of 7.44 seconds during Saturday's competition at the Doug Raymond Invitational. Chilton's record-setting race came one day after clocking a personal-best of 23.86 seconds to win the 200m dash.
Sadiya Shamsid-Deen, NIU, Sophomore, McDonough, Ga. / Sprayberry
Event: GVSU Big Meet (Friday)
Results: 400 meters, fifth | 55.61 | 10th/268th
Sadiya Shamsid-Deen of the NIU Track and Field team finished fifth in the 400 meters at the GVSU Big Meet (Friday). Shamsid-Deen ran 55.61 seconds, winning her heat while posting the 10th-fastest time in the MAC this season.
Laura Nicholson, Toledo, Senior, Cork, Ireland / Brandon Grammar School
Event: Eagle Elite Invitational (2/14/25) / David Hemery Valentine Invitational (2/15/25)
Results: Mile - 4th/14th | 1500m - 4th | Eagle Elite - Mile - 4:30.85 / 1500m - 4:13.08 | David Hemery - Mile - 4:31.26 Mile - 1/22
Laura Nicholson set the school record and ran the fastest mile ever in the MAC at the Eagle Elite Invitational in Boston. Nicholson crossed the finish line at 4:30.85, shaving nearly four seconds off the school record she set in the event in February 2024. Nicholson's mile time of 4:30.85 ranks first in the conference and 22nd nationally. The senior also competed in the 1500m at the Eagle Elite Invitational, taking fourth with a time of 4:13.08. Nicholson wrapped up the weekend at the David Hemery Valentine Invitational in Boston where she tallied a final time of 4:31.26 in the mile, placing 14th against top talent from around the country.
Sandra Ferrari, Western Michigan, Sophomore, Tumaco, Colombia
Event: GVSU Big Meet Friday
Results: 60m Hurdles/1st | 8.38 | #1 in MAC/#9 in Great Lakes Region
Sandra Ferrari had a great afternoon at the GVSU Big Meet, winning the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 8.38. That time stands as the best in the MAC so far this season and is the ninth best time in the Great Lakes Region this season. Along with that, she soared up the program record book, as she now has the second-best time in school history.
MAC Women’s Field Athlete of the Week Nominees
Cassidy Allen, Akron, Sr., Lakewood, N.Y.
Event: Doug Raymond Invitational
Results: PV-2nd | 12-5.25 (3.79m) | 1/96
Akron senior Cassidy Allen earned a runner-up effort in the women's pole vault eclipsing 12-5.25 (3.79m) at the Doug Raymond Invitational.
Trista Fintel, Bowling Green, Gr., Deshler, Ohio / Patrick Henry
Event: GVSU Big Meet
Results: Weight Throw (1st), Shot Put (2nd) | Weight Throw (19.65m), Shot Put (15.22m) | Weight Throw (2nd in MAC, 8th in Great Lakes Region, T-63rd in Division I)
Fintel continued her dominating indoor campaign this weekend. The graduate student transfer from Findlay threw a season-best 19.65m in the weight throw to win the event, which ranks second in the MAC by just 0.03m, eighth in the region and in the top 70 in Division I. It is also the fifth-best weight throw in BGSU history. Fintel also placed second in the shot put with a toss of 15.22m. While it is not her season-best, it would still rank second in the MAC behind her conference-leading 15.94m throw from Notre Dame's Meyo Invitational two weeks ago.
Akuot Kuany, Buffalo, Freshman, East Syracuse NY East Syracuse-Minoa Central
Event: Spire Indoor Games
Results: Triple Jump, 2nd place | 12.17m/39'11.25" #6 in MAC, #6 in NCAA NE Region
Akuot competed in her first triple jump competition of the season setting a personal best mark of 12.17m, placing 2nd overall and first collegiate finisher. Her mark ranks #6 in the MAC, #6 in the NCAA Northeast Region, and ranks #6 All-Time in UB's program.
Micah Martin, Eastern Michigan, Junior, Clinton Township, Mich./L'Anse Creuse
Event: GVSU Big Meet - Friday | HJ Invite - 2nd | 1.77m (5-09.75) | MAC: 1st/NCAA
50thEastern Michigan junior high jumper Micah Martin jumped a conference-best 1.77m (5-09.75), placing second in the high jump invite at the GVSU Big Meet – Friday, hosted by Grand Valley State, Friday, Feb. 14. Martin’s jump ranks 50th in the nation and marks her second consecutive meet setting a personal-best in the event, as she jumped 1.75m previously. Moreover, her mark stands as the fourth-best indoor mark in Eastern program history.
Mia Boule, Miami, Sophomore, Yorkville, Ill./ Yorkville
Event: Music City Challenge | Pole Vault/8th | 3.87 meters | 3rd/153rd
Mia Boule was the highest placing RedHawk in the women’s pole vault invite this weekend at the Music City Challenge as she finished in eighth place with 3.87 meters. Boule is ranked third in the MAC and 153rd in the country for the pole vault event.
Kamiya Dendy, NIU, Senior, Anderson, S.C. / Pendleton
Event: GVSU Big Meet (Friday)
Results: high jump, 1st | 1.77m (5-09.75) | T-1st/T-50th
Kamiya Dendy of the NIU Track and Field team won the high jump at the GVSU Big Meet (Friday) clearing a mark of 1.77 meters (5-09.75). Dendy won the tiebreak over Eastern Michigan’s Micah Martin, who also cleared 1.77m, but had more misses in the competition. For Dendy, this was her first high jump title of the indoor season, but her third top-three finish.
