Horizon League Outdoor Track and Field Release #3

April 15, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Youngstown State junior thrower Joe Lahmon and Milwaukee junior multi-athlete Jenni Saarinen were selected Horizon League men's and women's outdoor track Athletes of the Week based on their performances this past weekend.

Male Athlete of the Week
Joe Lahmon
Youngstown State
Jr., Mount Vernon, Ohio
Lahmon automatically qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regional in the hammer throw after he posted a performance of 193 feet, 4 inches at the Sea Ray Relays this past weekend to finish second place. The Ohio native is the second YSU thrower to automatically qualify for the Mideast Regional this season (Aaron Merrill). Lahmon's distance also broke the school-record, surpassing former League champion Jarrod Davis (191-2).

Female Athlete of the Week
Jenni Saarinen
Milwaukee
Jr., Lappeenranta, Finland
Saarinen placed seventh in the heptathlon with 5,021 points at the Sea Ray Relays this past weekend. The UWM junior also set the school record in the event and missed an NCAA provisional score by just 29 points. Saarinen holds the League's top point total in the heptathlon.

Other Men's Top Performers for the Week
Ryan Byrne
Detroit
Sr., Essex, Ontario
Byrne placed second in the 400-meter hurdles at the Bison Outdoor Classic last weekend. The UDM senior nearly came away with the win as he ran a time of 53.36, just short of Lehigh's Scott Robinson, who won the event in a time of 53.31.

Donte Prisby
Loyola
So., Orland Hills, Ill.
Prisby set a personal-best in the men's 400-meter dash at the UNC Invitational as he posted a time of 49.22. He shaved three-tenths of a second off of his previous personal-best to place 11th out of 35 competitors.

Justin Bohler
Milwaukee
Sr., Janesville, Wis.
Bohler broke the school record in the decathlon at the Sea Ray Relays over the weekend to finish in fifth place. The Wisconsin tallied 6,836 points to eclipse the record of 6,799 and fall just 64 points shy of an NCAA provisional standard.

Terell Williams
UIC
Sr., Rock Island, Ill.
Williams captured his first decathlon title of the season at the Lee Calhoun Memorial Invitational last weekend. The UIC senior scored 6,477 points.

Philip Lohrmann
Valparaiso
Sr., Battle Ground, Wash.
Lohrmann placed sixth out of 16 competitors in the pole vault at the Miami (Ohio) Team Challenge. The Valpo jumper registered a season-best height of 14 feet, 1.25 inches which was just four inches shy of his personal best and less than five inches away from the school record.

Kyle Fetters
Wright State
So., West Milton, Ohio
Fetters posted his second-straight personal best time in the 5,000-meter run at the Miami (Ohio) Team Challenge on Saturday. The WSU sophomore clocked a time of 15:51.74 to place 20th in the race of 46 participants.

Other Women's Top Performers for the Week
Genni Gardner
Butler
Sr., Bramley, U.K.
Gardner won the women's 1,500 meter run at the Miami (Ohio)Team Challenge in a time of 4:34.53. She finished nearly a second ahead of runner-up Amanda Mirochna of Miami (Ohio) and nearly six seconds ahead of teammate Rachel Gibbs in third place. Gardner was the only Horizon League athlete to post an individual win at the Miami (Ohio) Team Challenge.

Tiffany James
Detroit
Jr., Westland, Mich.
James successfully defended her 100-meter dash title at the Bison Outdoor Classic. The Michigan native earned the win with a time of 12.41. A year ago, James clocked a time of 12.38. The UDM sprinter also placed fifth in the 200m (25.43), and was part of the 4x400-meter relay team that took seventh (4:02.14).

Jena Brown
Loyola
So., Lake Ann, Mich.
Brown placed eighth among 37 runners in the 1500-meter run, finishing in a time of 4:48.74 at the UNC Invitational. The LU sophomore also clocked a time of 2:29.40 in the 800m.

Idara Essien
UIC
Sr., Wheaton, Ill.
Essien recorded UIC's best finish on the women's side as she placed third in the triple jump with a leap of 39 feet, 5.75 inches while competing at the Lee Calhoun Invitational on Saturday.

Rachael Button
Valparaiso
Sr., Farmington Hills, Mich.
Button finished sixth out of 41 runners in the 5,000-meter run this past weekend at the Miami (Ohio) Team Challenge. The Valpo senior crossed the line in 17:49.75, which was fourth-fastest performance in Crusader history and less than a second behind the third-place finisher.

Natalie Hopwood
Wright State
Fr., Huber Heights, Ohio
Hopwood placed 23rd in the 5,000-meter run at the Miami (Ohio) Team Challenge over the weekend with a time of 19:00.0. The rookie's time in the event was a career best.

Yandeh Joh
Youngstown State
Jr., Cleveland, Ohio
Joh finished third in the 100-meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 14.59 at the Northeast Ohio Quad over the weekend. Joh's time ranks fourth in school history behind former League champions Aaliyah Gillespie, Satara Freeman and Kelly Leonard.