Milwaukee's Harper, James and Schmidt, Youngstown State's Grambling Earn #HLTF Weekly Honors

INDIANAPOLIS – Milwaukee junior Reed Schmidt (Racine, Wis.) and Youngstown State junior Nina Grambling (Canton, Ohio) have been named Horizon League Men’s and Women’s Runners of the Week while Milwaukee senior Trevor James (Maplewood, Ill.) and Panther freshman Alisha Harper (Brookfield, Wis.) have been named Horizon League Men’s and Women’s Athletes of the Week for the period of Jan. 27-Feb. 2.

Schmidt secured runner of the week honors after topping the 20-man 800-meter field with a winning time of 1:55.81. It was his second 800-meter win of the season and his adjusted time of 1:54.18 is the fastest in the Horizon League this season.

Grambling won her second runner of the week award this season after becoming the first YSU woman to run under 7.50 seconds in school history. She finished fourth out of 38 competitors at the Penn State National Invitational. The time is the fastest in the Horizon League this season and beat the previous YSU record of 7.52 seconds which had stood since the 2005 season.

James set the school record in high jump with a leap of 2.15m (7-0 ½) on his first attempt at the height to win field athlete of the week honors. He broke the previous mark of 2.14m set back in 2010 and his jump currently stands tied for 15th in the nation and is the best in the Horizon League.Harper won both the long jump and triple jump at the Tadd Metzger Invitational to earn her first women’s field athlete of the week honor. Her long jump of 5.75m is the top in the League this year and is ninth in school history. Her triple jump of 11.43 was just shy of her PR this season and bested the other 14 competitors.

Milwaukee is back in action on Friday at the Meyo Invite in South Bend., Ind., while Youngstown State will also resume on Friday as they host the YSU National Invitational.

Other Top Athletes of the Week:
Jordan Banks, UIC (Jr., Bolingbrook, Ill.) - In the triple jump at the Tadd Metzger Invitational, Banks took home top honors with a mark of 14.28 meters. Its the top jump in the Horizon League this season.
Ashley Bayles, Detroit (So., Adrian, Mich.) - Finished second out of 21 competitors in the shot put with a throw of 12.97m. Took 6th place in the weight throw with a distance of 13.51m.
Colin Cashner, Detroit (Sr., St. Louis, Mo.) - Set the SVSU Fieldhouse record with a throw of 18.49 meters to place first over 24 other competitors.
Ariel Gibbs, UIC (So., Pembroke Township, Ill.) - At the Tadd Metzger Invitational, Gibbs finished third with a long jump of 5.33 meters.
Hayley MacDonald, Oakland (Jr., Zeeland, Mich.) - Placed sixth in the long jump with a jump of 4.79m.
Conner Neu, Youngstown State (So., Struthers, Ohio) - At the SPIRE Midwest Invitational, he won the event by 2.47 meters with a season-best throw of 19.99m. That’s the top throw in the HL this season.
Natassia Roberts, Wright State (Jr., Xenia, Ohio) - Finished second in the shot put at Ohio State with a distance of 11.99m and third in weight throw with a throw of 15.05m.
Jazmin Taylor, Valparaiso (Sr., Rock Island, Ill.) - Tied Valpo record and career-best in high jump after clearing 1.69m at the Findlay Open.
Gino Vitella, Oakland (Jr., Sterling Heights, Mich.) - Finished second in shot put with a throw 16.95m. The throw is the best mark in the Horizon League this season.
Justin Zosso, Valparaiso (Jr., Chesterton, Ind.) - Won the pole vault competiton at the Findlay Open clearing 4.60m. It was his fourth title in five meets.

Other Top Runners of the Week:
Ashley Burr, Oakland (So., Midland, Mich.) - She finished in 4th out of 38 competitors in the 3000m finishing with a time of 10:12.80, the second fastest time in the HL for the week.
Aaron Davis, Oakland (So., Detroit, Mich.) - Won his second 200m title of the season with a time of 21.99 at the SVSU Jet’s Pizza Invitational.
Anthony Franze, Valparaiso (So., Gunter, Texas) - Registered a 9th place finish in the 60m prelims with a time of 7.31 and a sixth place finish in the 200m with a time of 23.38.
Allison Garner, Detroit (Jr., South Bend, Ind.) - Won the 60 meter dash, with a time of 7.72, besting the other 27 competitors. She placed third out of 41 in the 200m with a time of 25.69.
Vanessa Hopwood, Wright State (Jr., Huber Heights, Ohio) - She finished second in the 3000m run with a time of 11:00.47.
Martin Hunter, UIC (Jr., Wilmette, Ill.) - Placed second in the 200m race with a time of 22.90 at the Tadd Metzger Invitational.
Melissa Kirchoff, Milwaukee (Fr., Franklin, Wis.) - Won both prelims and finals in the sprint hurdle event. Her time of 8.53 stands ninth in UWM history.
Austin McLean, Youngstown State (Jr., West Jefferson, Ohio ) - His time of 8:13.56 in the 3,000-meter run broke a six-year old school record by 5.03 seconds.
Khalil Parris, Detroit (So., Windsor, Ontario, Canada) - Won the 400m dash for the second straight week, winning over 23 other competitors, with a time of 49.20.
Hannah Reynard, Valparaiso (Fr., Jackson, Mich.) - She finished fifth in the 400m (1:00.42) and 8th in the 200m (27.61).
Rebecca Zaiter, UIC (Sr., Elmhurst, Ill.) - Won the 800m and one-mile race at the Tadd Metzger Invitational. Her 800m time of 2:16.62 is the fastest in the HL this season and her one-mile time of 5:07.12 is the second fastest time in the League.

Indoor Athletes of the Week:
Dec. 2: Arnaldo Morales (Youngstown State); Jaynee Corbett (Youngstown State)
Jan. 6: Jordan Banks (UIC); Ashley Bayles (Detroit)
Jan. 13: Nicholas Girodat (Oakland); Jazmin Taylor (Valparaiso)
Jan. 20:  Gino Vitella (Oakland); Sarah Peters (Valparaiso)
Jan. 27: Trevor James (Milwaukee); Alisha Harper (Milwaukee)

Indoor Runners of the Week:
Dec. 2: Bryce Stroede (Oakland); Nina Grambling (Youngstown State)
Jan. 6: Ryan Leahy (Detroit); Kacia Grant (Wright State)
Jan. 13:  Marquis Johnson (Milwaukee); Leah Holmes (Milwaukee)
Jan. 20:  Marquis Johnson (Milwaukee); Shannon Marchant (Detroit)
Jan. 27: Reed Schmidt (Milwaukee); Nina Grambling (Youngstown State)