Oakland's Koponen, Valparaiso's Taylor, Youngstown State's Hamilton, Grace Garner #HLTF Honors

INDIANAPOLIS – Oakland junior David Koponen (Livonia, Mich.) and Youngstown State senior Samantha Hamilton (North Jackson, Ohio) have been named Horizon League Men’s and Women’s Runners of the Week while Youngstown State senior Bobby Grace (Middleburg Heights, Ohio) and Valparaiso junior Jazmin Taylor (Rock Island, Ill.) have been named Horizon League Athletes of the Week for the period of Apr. 15-21.

At the Jesse Owens Classic, Koponen turned in the fastest time in the league in the 800-meter dash this season. His time of 1:53.75 placed him eighth place out of 41 runners. His time ranks third in Oakland school history.

Hamilton competed in the 1,500-meter run at the Jesse Owens Classic for the first time and turned in a school record performance. She crossed the finish line with a time of 4:28.88, which narrowly tops Louisa Coppola of Detroit (4:28.91) for the best time in the league this season. The time placed Hamilton seventh out of 54 competitors.

For the second week in a row, Grace extended his league best distance in the shot put and in turn, collected Athlete of the Week honors. At the Jesse Owens Classic his distance of 19.56 meters placed him second out of 36 competitors. His most recent mark stands as a personal best and is 2.07 meters better than the second-best mark in the league this season.

Taylor broke her own school record for the second time this season in the high jump at the DePaul Invitational. Her mark of 1.70 meters, which is tops in the league this season, placed her in second-place.

Oakland is in action April 24-26 at the Gina Relays, Youngstown State travels to the Penn Relays April 24-25 and Valparaiso competes April 25-26 at the Miami (Ohio) Invitational.

Other Top Athletes of the Week (Apr. 15-21):
Alex Bailey, UIC (Fr., Hanover Park, Ill.) - Placed first in the triple jump at the DePaul Invitational with a mark of 12.77 meters.
Jacob Frey, Valparaiso (Jr., St. Paul, Minn.) - Placed first in the weight throw (54.16 meters), fifth in the discus (40.13 meters) and eighth in the shot put (11.49 meters) at the DePaul Invitational.
CJ Gozdor, Oakland (So., Clarkstown, Mich.) - Registered a high jump of 1.96 meters at the Jesse Owens Classic, good for 15th place. The mark ranks second in Oakland school history.
Shannon Getchen, Oakland (Sr., Livonia, Mich.) - Turned in two top-five distances in Oakland school history at the Jesse Owens Classic. Registered throws of 34.23 meters in the discus and 45.75 meters in the hammer throw.
Sharon Mwale, UIC (Jr., Woodstock. Ill.) - Placed third in the high jump (1.60 meters) at the DePaul Invitational.
Natassia Roberts, Wright State (So., Xenia, Ohio) - Turned in a discus throw of 41.40 meters and a javelin throw of 29.03 meters at the Jesse Owens Classic.
Whitney Rogers, Detroit (Sr., Flint, Mich.) - Finished sixth in the triple jump at the Jesse Owens Classic with a mark of 11.81 meters.
Mackenzie Sturts, Youngstown State (Fr., Marion, N.Y.) - Tied her best high jump of the year at the Jesse Owens Classic with a mark of 1.65 meters, good for fourth-place.

Other Top Runners of the Week (Apr. 15-21):
Charles Anthony, Detroit (Sr., Northville, Mich.) - Posted the third-best time in the league this season at the Jesse Owens Classic in the 100-meter dash (10.83 seconds) to place 11th. Also registered a 12th place finish in the 200-meter dash (21.79 seconds).
Antwon Hatchett, Valparaiso (Jr., Indianapolis, Ind.) - Turned in his second-best time of the season in the 400-meter hurdles (57.50 seconds).
Photis Karkalis, UIC (Sr., Mount Prospect, Ill.) - At the DePaul Invitational, placed first in the 1,500-meter run (4:00.52) and second in the 5,000-meter run (15:49.87).
Eric Rupe, Youngstown State (Jr., Cortland, Ohio) - Placed 15th in the 1,500-meter run at the Jesse Owens Classic with a time of 3:53.14.
Louisa Coppola, Detroit (Sr., Warren, Mich.) - Ran a personal best 1,500-meter dash time at the Jesse Owens Classic (4:28.91). Her mark was just .04 seconds off the Detroit school record set in 2006.
Tess Ehrhardt, UIC (Jr., Geneva, Ill.) - For the second time this season, Ehrhardt set a new school record in the 5,000-meter run. In the process, she took fourth-place in the event at the Mt. Sac Relays.
Kacia Grant, Wright State (Jr., Reynoldsburg, Ohio) - At the Jesse Owens Classic, finished the 100-meter dash in 11.92 seconds and the 200-meter dash in 24.70 seconds.
Serena San Cartier, Oakland (Sudbury, Ont.) - Placed first in the 400-meter hurdles at the Al Owens Classic, crossing the finish line in 1:03.63. Her time ranks sixth-best in the league this season.

Outdoor Athletes of the Week:
Mar. 25: Jacob Frey (Valparaiso); Jazmin Taylor (Valparaiso)
Apr. 1: Jay Jakovina (Youngstown State); Nina Grambling (Youngstown State)
Apr. 8: Nate Pozolinski (Milwaukee); Ariel Gibbs (UIC)
Apr. 15: Bobby Grace (Youngstown State); Sherice Hewett (Milwaukee)
Apr. 22: Bobby Grace (Youngstown State); Jazmin Taylor (Valparaiso)

Outdoor Runners of the Week:
Mar. 25: Marquis Johnson (Milwaukee); Elizabeth Bloy (Valparaiso)
Apr. 1: Eric Rupe (Youngstown State); Shannon Marchant (Detroit)
Apr. 8: Dexter Schleis (Milwaukee); Kacia Grant (Wright State)
Apr. 15: Marquis Johnson (Milwaukee); Simbi Laaro (Milwaukee)
Apr. 22: David Koponen, Oakland; Samantha Hamilton (Youngstown State)