Detroit's Marchant, Youngstown State's Rupe, Grambling and Jakovina Tabbed to #HLTF Weekly Honors

INDIANAPOLIS – Youngstown State junior Eric Rupe (Cortland, Ohio) and Detroit senior Shannon Marchant (London, Ont.) have named Horizon League Men’s and Women’s Runners of the Week while Youngstown State sophomore Jay Jakovina (Austintown, Ohio) and sophomore Nina Grambling (Canton, Ohio) have been named Horizon League Athletes of the Week for the period of Mar. 25-31.

Competing at the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational, Detroit’s first event of the outdoor season, Marchant finished second out of 21 runners in the 400-meter dash. Her time of 58.63 ranks as the second-best time in the League this outdoor season.

Rupe posted a 5,000-meter time of 14:22.27, which bested a field of 35 runners at the Raleigh Relays. In the process, his mark shattered the Youngstown State school record of 14:36, which stood since 2009. The time is also the best mark in the League this season by nearly 24 seconds.

Jakovina posted a season-best high jump in the League this season at the Raleigh Relays. The jump of 2.10 meters is a career-best, and based on last year’s qualifying standards, is in line for this year’s NCAA Division I Preliminaries.

Competing in the long jump at the Raleigh Relays, Grambling took second-place out of 75 competitors in the long jump. Her mark of 5.75 meters ranks as the best mark in the League this season and was just off her career-best jump of 5.76 meters.

Detroit returns to action April 5 when it hosts Oakland. Youngstown State continues its season at the Northeast Ohio Quad on April 4-5.

Other Top Athletes of the Week (Mar. 25-31):
Jordan Banks, UIC (So., Bolingbrook, Ill.) - At the COD Invitational, Banks took first in the long jump (6.65 meters) and second in the triple jump (13.36 meters).
Alex Chollet, Milwaukee (Jr., Aurora, Ill.) - Turned in a hammer throw of 55.29 meters, which moved him into third place in school history, to place sixth at the Bill Cornell Spring Classic. 
Eric Lewis, Detroit (Sr., Eastpointe, Mich.) - After redshirting for the 2013 outdoor season, Lewis finished top six in both the hammer throw (56.31 meters) and the discus (42.41 meters) at the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational. 
Elijah Owen, Valparaiso (So., LaPorte, Ind.) - Bested a field of 31 competitors in the javelin (57.10 meters) at the North Park Invitational.
Sherice Hewett, Milwaukee (Jr., Milwaukee, Wis.) - Placed second and 11th in the triple jump and long jump, respectively, at the Bill Cornell Spring Classic. Her triple jump of 12.04 meters ranks as the best mark in the League this season.
Megan Howdeshell, Valparaiso (Jr., Bourbon, Ind.) - Registered a first-place finish in the discus (41.34 meters) at the North Park Invitational.
Aisha Potts-Tyre, Detroit (So., Maumee, Ohio) - Placed fourth in the heptathlon at the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational, scoring 3,851 points.
Desirae Ranberg, UIC (So., Wheaton, Ill.) - At the COD Invitational, Ranberg placed second in the discus with a mark of 34.89m and third in the hammer throw with a toss of 37.13 meters.
Natassia Roberts, Wright State (So., Xenia, Ohio) - Placed first in the discus (40.89 meters) and third in the shot put (12.48 meters) at the Winthrop Invitational.

Other Top Runners of the Week (Mar. 25-31):
Durell Busby, Milwaukee (Sr., Canaan, Tobago) - Busby turned in the 25th fastest time in the nation in the 110-meter hurdles at the Bill Cornell Spring Classic. His mark of 14.06 was good for second-place.
Ryan Leahy, Detroit (Fr., Saint Joseph, Mich.) - Broke the Detroit freshman record in the 10,000-meter run at the Oliver Nikoloff Invitational. His time of 31:32.91 placed him fifth.
Kyle Hauser, UIC (Fr., Palos Heights, Ill.) - Out of 115 competitors, Hauser placed eighth in the 1.500-meter run at the Raleigh Relays.
Michelle Klim, Youngstown State (Fr., Poland, Ohio) - In the 5,000-meter run at the Raleigh Relays, Klim placed 17th with a time of 17:45.98.
Tess Ehrhardt, UIC (Jr., Geneva, Ill.) - Her time of 17:11.18 at the COD Invitational broke the UIC school record in the 5,000-meter run.
Simbi Laaro, Milwaukee (Green Bay, Wis.) - Turned in three, top three finishes at the Bill Cornell Spring Classic in the 100-meter dash (12.22), 200-meter dash (25.43) and the 4x100 relay (48.28).
Rachel Janson, Wright State (Sr., Kalida, Ohio) - Placed second at the Winthrop Invitational in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 11:31.40.

Outdoor Athletes of the Week:
Mar. 25: Jacob Frey (Valparaiso); Jazmin Taylor (Valparaiso)
April 1: Jay Jakovina (Youngstown State); Nina Grambling (Youngstown State)

Outdoor Runners of the Week:
Mar. 25: Marquis Johnson (Milwaukee); Elizabeth Bloy (Valparaiso)
April 1: Eric Rupe (Youngstown State); Shannon Marchant (Detroit)

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