Horizon League Outdoor Track and Field Release #5

April 29, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Butler distance runners Andy Baker and Genni Gardner 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
Andy Baker
Butler
Jr., Minehead, U.K.
Baker picked up his first Athlete of the Week award this spring after he posted the fastest collegiate time in the 5,000-meter run at the Oregon Relays. The Butler junior placed third in the race in a personal-best time of 13:49.87. Baker used an all-out sprint in the final 200 meters to overtake and pass Oregon All-American A. J. Acosta for third place. Baker's time in the event is the 11th-best performance among Division I runners this year.

Female Athlete of the Week
Genni Gardner
Butler
Sr., Bramley, U.K.
Gardner received her second Athlete of the Week award this season after she finished third among collegiate athletes in the 5,000-meter run while competing at the Oregon Relays. She finished sixth overall, clocking a time of 16:37.93. Her time also topped the NCAA regional qualifying standard.

Other Men's Top Performers for the Week
Ryan Byrne
Detroit
Sr., Essex, Ontario
Byrne competed at the Hillsdale Relays this past weekend and placed second in the 400-meter hurdles in a time of 53.35. The UDM senior has placed second in the event three times in the last four weeks.

Ricky Headrick
Loyola
So., Tiffin, Ohio
Headrick helped the 4x400-meter relay team to a win with a season-best time of 3:15.50 at the Hillsdale Relays. He also finished in the top ten of the men's 400m dash as he clocked a personal-best time of 48.80.

Adam Schleis
Milwaukee
Jr., Germantown, Wis.
Schleis Competed at both the Drake Relays and Kip Janvrin Open. The UWM junior opened the week on Friday by taking third in the 110-meter hurdles at the Janvrin Open finishing in a time of 14.79. On Saturday, Schleis ran with the 4x100m relay team that placed sixth in the finals (41.36).

Terell Williams
UIC
Sr., Rock Island, Ill.
Williams won his first javelin title of the season and set a career-best mark of 186 feet, 10 inches at the Marquette Invitational on Saturday afternoon. Williams also managed to pick up a third-place finish in the 100-meter hurdles, clocking in with a time of 16.16 seconds.

Jarrett Mickens
Valparaiso
Fr., Aurora, Ill.
Mickens set career bests in both long and triple jump events this past weekend at the Hillsdale Relays. On Friday he placed 11th in the long jump with a leap of 21 feet, 6 inches. Mickens then registered the fourth-longest triple jump in Crusader history Saturday, finishing seventh with a mark of 44 feet, 8 inches.

Kyle Fetters
Wright State
So., West Milton, Ohio
Fetters set a personal best for the fourth straight week in the 5000-meter run. The sophomore posted a time of 15:42.99 at the Stan Lyons Invitational. He was the first WSU runner to cross the finish line as he placed 20th.

Aaron Merrill
Youngstown State
So., Leetonia, Ohio
Merrill won two events with meet-record performances in each at the Red Flash Open. He won the discus with a personal-best mark of 147 feet, 5 inches and took the top spot in the shot put with a heave of 57-7 3/4. He moved up to third in the League rankings in the discus, and remains atop the list in the shot put.

Other Women's Top Performers for the Week
Tiffany James
Detroit
Jr., Westland, Mich.
James took fifth in the 100-meter dash at the Hillsdale Relays with a season best time of 12.33. She also finished 18th in the 200m with a time of 25.98 and was part of UDM's 4x400m relay team that finished sixth (4:03.86).

Leili Korassani
Loyola
So., Barrington, Ill.
Khorassani competed at the Concordia Relays and won the hammer throw with a personal-best mark of 116 feet, 2 inches. The LU senior also posted a mark of 89-10 in the discus to finish in 12th-place.

Holly Nearman
Milwaukee
Jr., Monroe, Wis.
Nearman qualified for the NCAA regional championships and broke the school record in the 5,000-meter run while competing at the Drake Relays. Nearman took third in the event finishing in a time of 16:47.80 to eclipse the previous school mark of 16:49.20, which was set in 1982.

Idara Essien
UIC
Sr., Wheaton, Ill.
Essien placed third in the triple jump with a leap of 39 feet, 5.75 inches while competing at the Marquette Invitational this past Saturday.

Amanda Body
Valparaiso
Jr., Harlan, Ky.
Body won the long jump, defeating a field of 31 other athletes at the Hillsdale Relays. The Valpo junior captured the event title with a leap of 18 feet, 9 inches, which surpassed her previous Crusader program record by six inches.

Tiffany Brigham
Wright State
So., Springfield, Ohio
Brigham posted a pair of top-rive finishes at the Stan Lyons Invitational over the weekend. The sophomore placed third in the 100-meter dash with a time of 12.08 and followed that with a fourth-place showing in the 200-meter dash, posting a time of 24.98.

Breanne Romeo
Youngstown State
Fr., Boardman, Ohio
Romeo became the second sprinter in school history to qualify for the USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships over the weekend at the Saint Francis Red Flash Open. She ran the 400m in a time of 55.63 to eclipse the qualifying standard of 55.94 to earn the opportunity to compete against the best sprinters in the nation aged 14-19. The time set the meet record, and it ranks her second in school history.