Milwaukee's Novacek, Valpo's Drozdowski and YSU's Neu and Zallow Secure Outdoor Track and Field Weekly Honors

Indianapolis – Youngstown State freshman Carl Zallow (Warren, Ohio) and Milwaukee sophomore Kate Novacek (Waukesha, Wis.) have been named Horizon League Men’s and Women’s Runners of the Week while Youngstown State sophomore Conner Neu (Brook Park, Ohio) and Valparaiso senior Sarah Drozdowski (Roselle, Ill.) have been named Horizon League Men’s and Women’s Athletes of the Week for the period of April 13-19.

Zallow capped off a strong week with his first career Horizon League runner of the week honor. The freshman picked up his first career outdoor victories with wins in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes at the Dave Labor Invitational. He won the 100-meter event in a time of 10.51 seconds to best 37 other competitors. It was an improvement of .20 seconds over his top time of the year and stands as the top outdoor time in the Horizon League this season. He won the 200-meter dash by .01 seconds in a time of 21.42 seconds, topping the other 38 entries. It bested his previous PR by .58 seconds and is the second-best time recorded in the Horizon League this season.

Novacek continued a solid outdoor season in capturing her third runner of the week honor this spring. The Waukesha, Wis., native ran the fourth-fastest time in the 400-meters in UWM history with a time of 55.16 at the Gibson Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind., to take second in the event. Her time is the fastest in the Horizon League this season. She also competed in the 200-meter event, finishing in a time of 25.03, the sixth-fastest time in the Horizon League this year. Novacek also stepped in as a sub in the 4x100m relay and helped the Panthers post the fourth-fastest 4x100 time in program history (46.74) that also leads the conference.

Neu had season-best throws in the discus and hammer throw to win men’s field athlete of the week honors. He won the hammer throw with a toss of 61.60-meters to best the other 26 competitors at the Dave Labor Invitational. He won the event by nearly 10 meters. That distance is the second-best in the Horizon League this season. He also won the discus with a throw of 42.46m to take first out of 38 entries.

Drozdowski continued her all-around performance in the throws category to win her second outdoor field athlete of the week award. The Roselle, Ill., native competed in four events on the weekend at the Illini Twilight. She won the hammer throw with a toss of 57.22m. She set the Valparaiso school record by 3.27m and her distance stands as the top-mark in the Horizon League. She finished third in the shot put with a distance of 13.53m. It’s the second-best distance in the HL this season. She also threw season-best marks in the discus (31.85m) and the javelin (39.34).

Top Runners of the Week:
Ylli Alla, Detroit (Sr., Madison Heights, Mich.) – Alla ran the eighth-fastest time in UDM history with a time of 9:50.94 in the 3,000m steeplechase.
Alex Bashqawi, UIC (Fr., Elmhurst, Ill.) – Bashqawi ran a personal best time in the 5,000m run (15:00.62) at the Illinois Twilight to finish in eighth place.
Zeinab Baydoun, Detroit (Sr., Windsor, Ont.) – Baydoun won the 3,000m steeplechase at the Gibson Invitational by over 40 seconds with a time of 11:40.21.
Andrew Bowman, Oakland (So., Marlette, Mich.) – Bowman finished first and set a school-record with a time of 9.14.07 in the 3,000m steeplechase, which was top HL time of the week
Marquis Johnson, Milwaukee (Jr., Lac du Flambeau, Wis.) – Johnson won two events at the Gibson Invitational. He won the 200m event with a time of 21.76 and the 400m dash in a time of 46.97. That time is just shy of the UWM record and is the fastest in the HL this season by nearly two seconds.
Trace Ostergren, Valparaiso (Sr., LaPorte, Ind.) – Ostergren had a season-best time in the steeplechase (10:11.91) at the Illini Twilight.
Hannah Reynard, Valparaiso (Fr., Jackson, Mich.) – Reynard ran the fifth fastest-time in Valpo history with a 59.44 second time in the 400m. She also ran a personal-best in the 200m (26.71) and finished 8th in the 100m hurdles (15.39).
Stephanie Sanders, UIC (Jr., Lockport, Ill.) – Sanders ran a personal best time of 17:36.12 in the 5,000m at the Illinois Twilight to finish in sixth out of 28 entries.
Jennifer Shiley, Youngstown State (Sr., Austintown, Ohio) – Shiley had a season-best performance in the 400m dash, finishing in a time of 55.92 to win the event. She also posted her career-best in the 200m (25.08) event to place in second.
Sydney Sterling, Oakland (Fr., Farmington, Mich.) – Sterling broke her own school record in the 400m, running in a time of 56.70m.

Top Athletes of the Week:
Colin Cashner, Detroit (Sr., St. Louis, Mo.) – Cashner broke his own school record in the hammer throw with a distance of 63.40 to win the event at the Gibson Invitational.
Jacob Frey, Valparaiso (Sr., St. Paul, Minn.) – Frey finished second in the hammer throw at the Illini Twilight with a throw of 58.18m.
Ariel Gibbs, UIC (So., Pembroke Township, Ill.) – Gibbs finished fourth in the long jump at the Illinois Twilight with a distance of 5.45m.
Ashley Jemison, Oakland (Jr., Woodland, Mich.) – Jemison throw the discus a distance of 37.29m and the hammer throw 32.23m at the Gibson Invitational.
Steph Kostowicz, Milwaukee (Fr., Oak Creek, Wis.) – Kostowicz scored her personal bests this season in the shot put (12.36m), discus (39.50m) and javelin (31.04m).
Jennifer Neider, Youngstown State (Jr., Hermitage, Pa.) – Neider won the shot put by 1.20m (13.59m) and took second in the hammer throw (49.62m) with a season-best throw by almost 4 meters over her previous best.
Aisha Potts-Tyre, Detroit (Jr., Maumee, Ohio) – Potts-Tyre recorded a PR in the triple jump with a leap of 11.19 meters at the Gibson Invitational.
Brett Pozolinski, Milwaukee (Jr., Kimberly, Wis.) – Pozolinski came in second overall at the Gibson Invitational in the high jump with a height of 2.05m.
Christian Saporiti, UIC (So., Rockford, Ill.) – Saporiti scored a personal best throw in the shot put (15.10m) to finish in eighth place.
Gino Vitella, Oakland (Jr., Sterling Heights, Mich.) – Vitella finished in second in the discus and shot put at the Gibson Invitational. He set the school record with a discus toss of 47.11m.Indianapolis – Youngstown State freshman Carl Zallow (Warren, Ohio) and Milwaukee sophomore Kate Novacek (Waukesha, Wis.) have been named Horizon League Men’s and Women’s Runners of the Week while Youngstown State sophomore Conner Neu (Brook Park, Ohio) and Valparaiso senior Sarah Drozdowski (Roselle, Ill.) have been named Horizon League Men’s and Women’s Athletes of the Week for the period of April 13-19.

Zallow capped off a strong week with his first career Horizon League runner of the week honor. The freshman picked up his first career outdoor victories with wins in the 100-meter and 200-meter dashes at the Dave Labor Invitational. He won the 100-meter event in a time of 10.51 seconds to best 37 other competitors. It was an improvement of .20 seconds over his top time of the year and stands as the top outdoor time in the Horizon League this season. He won the 200-meter dash by .01 seconds in a time of 21.42 seconds, topping the other 38 entries. It bested his previous PR by .58 seconds and is the second-best time recorded in the Horizon League this season.

Novacek continued a solid outdoor season in capturing her third runner of the week honor this spring. The Waukesha, Wis., native ran the fourth-fastest time in the 400-meters in UWM history with a time of 55.16 at the Gibson Invitational in Terre Haute, Ind., to take second in the event. Her time is the fastest in the Horizon League this season. She also competed in the 200-meter event, finishing in a time of 25.03, the sixth-fastest time in the Horizon League this year. Novacek also stepped in as a sub in the 4x100m relay and helped the Panthers post the fourth-fastest 4x100 time in program history (46.74) that also leads the conference.

Neu had season-best throws in the discus and hammer throw to win men’s field athlete of the week honors. He won the hammer throw with a toss of 61.60-meters to best the other 26 competitors at the Dave Labor Invitational. He won the event by nearly 10 meters. That distance is the second-best in the Horizon League this season. He also won the discus with a throw of 42.46m to take first out of 38 entries.

Drozdowski continued her all-around performance in the throws category to win her second outdoor field athlete of the week award. The Roselle, Ill., native competed in four events on the weekend at the Illini Twilight. She won the hammer throw with a toss of 57.22m. She set the Valparaiso school record by 3.27m and her distance stands as the top-mark in the Horizon League. She finished third in the shot put with a distance of 13.53m. It’s the second-best distance in the HL this season. She also threw season-best marks in the discus (31.85m) and the javelin (39.34).

Top Runners of the Week:
Ylli Alla, Detroit (Sr., Madison Heights, Mich.) – Alla ran the eighth-fastest time in UDM history with a time of 9:50.94 in the 3,000m steeplechase.
Alex Bashqawi, UIC (Fr., Elmhurst, Ill.) – Bashqawi ran a personal best time in the 5,000m run (15:00.62) at the Illinois Twilight to finish in eighth place.
Zeinab Baydoun, Detroit (Sr., Windsor, Ont.) – Baydoun won the 3,000m steeplechase at the Gibson Invitational by over 40 seconds with a time of 11:40.21.
Andrew Bowman, Oakland (So., Marlette, Mich.) – Bowman finished first and set a school-record with a time of 9.14.07 in the 3,000m steeplechase, which was top HL time of the week
Marquis Johnson, Milwaukee (Jr., Lac du Flambeau, Wis.) – Johnson won two events at the Gibson Invitational. He won the 200m event with a time of 21.76 and the 400m dash in a time of 46.97. That time is just shy of the UWM record and is the fastest in the HL this season by nearly two seconds.
Trace Ostergren, Valparaiso (Sr., LaPorte, Ind.) – Ostergren had a season-best time in the steeplechase (10:11.91) at the Illini Twilight.
Hannah Reynard, Valparaiso (Fr., Jackson, Mich.) – Reynard ran the fifth fastest-time in Valpo history with a 59.44 second time in the 400m. She also ran a personal-best in the 200m (26.71) and finished 8th in the 100m hurdles (15.39).
Stephanie Sanders, UIC (Jr., Lockport, Ill.) – Sanders ran a personal best time of 17:36.12 in the 5,000m at the Illinois Twilight to finish in sixth out of 28 entries.
Jennifer Shiley, Youngstown State (Sr., Austintown, Ohio) – Shiley had a season-best performance in the 400m dash, finishing in a time of 55.92 to win the event. She also posted her career-best in the 200m (25.08) event to place in second.
Sydney Sterling, Oakland (Fr., Farmington, Mich.) – Sterling broke her own school record in the 400m, running in a time of 56.70m.

Top Athletes of the Week:
Colin Cashner, Detroit (Sr., St. Louis, Mo.) – Cashner broke his own school record in the hammer throw with a distance of 63.40 to win the event at the Gibson Invitational.
Jacob Frey, Valparaiso (Sr., St. Paul, Minn.) – Frey finished second in the hammer throw at the Illini Twilight with a throw of 58.18m.
Ariel Gibbs, UIC (So., Pembroke Township, Ill.) – Gibbs finished fourth in the long jump at the Illinois Twilight with a distance of 5.45m.
Ashley Jemison, Oakland (Jr., Woodland, Mich.) – Jemison throw the discus a distance of 37.29m and the hammer throw 32.23m at the Gibson Invitational.
Steph Kostowicz, Milwaukee (Fr., Oak Creek, Wis.) – Kostowicz scored her personal bests this season in the shot put (12.36m), discus (39.50m) and javelin (31.04m).
Jennifer Neider, Youngstown State (Jr., Hermitage, Pa.) – Neider won the shot put by 1.20m (13.59m) and took second in the hammer throw (49.62m) with a season-best throw by almost 4 meters over her previous best.
Aisha Potts-Tyre, Detroit (Jr., Maumee, Ohio) – Potts-Tyre recorded a PR in the triple jump with a leap of 11.19 meters at the Gibson Invitational.
Brett Pozolinski, Milwaukee (Jr., Kimberly, Wis.) – Pozolinski came in second overall at the Gibson Invitational in the high jump with a height of 2.05m.
Christian Saporiti, UIC (So., Rockford, Ill.) – Saporiti scored a personal best throw in the shot put (15.10m) to finish in eighth place.
Gino Vitella, Oakland (Jr., Sterling Heights, Mich.) – Vitella finished in second in the discus and shot put at the Gibson Invitational. He set the school record with a discus toss of 47.11m.