Horizon League Outdoor Track and Field Release #4

April 22, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Valparaiso senior thrower Steve Bartholomew and Youngstown State sprinter Yandeh Joh 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
Steve Bartholomew
Valparaiso
Sr., Valparaiso, Ind.
Bartholomew collected his second Athlete of the Week award of the spring season after he qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships in the discus and hammer throw events this past weekend at the Puma Invitational in Rensselaer, Ind. The Valpo senior also won both events. He claimed the hammer throw with a toss of 194 feet, 9 inches. In the discus, Bartholomew had a performance of 169-10 to capture first place.

Female Athlete of the Week
Yandeh Joh
Youngstown State
Jr., Cleveland, Ohio
Joh becomes the first individual from Youngstown State to be named Athlete of the Week this spring. Joh received the honor after she won the 100-meter hurdles (14.63) and the long jump (17 feet, 4 inches) while competing at the Sparky Adams Invitational in Berea, Ohio. Her time in the hurdles was just .04 seconds off her season-best.

Other Men's Top Performers for the Week
Ryan Byrne
Detroit
Sr., Essex, Ontario
Byrne won the 400-meter hurdles in time of 53.0 against Oakland. He then followed that performance with a second-place finish in the 400-meter hurdles at the EMU Twilight Invitational on Saturday. Byrne just missed the regional qualifying mark of 52.51 after he posted a time of 52.65.

Ben Reifenberg
Loyola
Fr., Fort Wayne, Ind.
Reifenberg paced the Ramblers as he won the men's 5,000-meter run at the Rankin Invitational on Saturday in a time of 15:02.42. The LU freshman placed first among 15 competitors.

Darren Cole
Milwaukee
Sr., Milwaukee, Wis.
Cole hit the NCAA Regional standard in the triple jump last Saturday while competing at the Rankin Invitational. The Panther senior is the first athlete from UWM to qualify for regionals. Cole's personal-best leap of 49 feet, 10.50 inches also placed him first in the triple jump. In addition, Cole ran on the winning 4x100-meter relay team, which clocked the second-fastest time in school history (40.81).

Ezekiel Sayon
UIC
Fr., Rockford, Ill.
Sayon finished first in the 100-meter dash preliminaries with a season and League-best time of 10.88 seconds at the Iowa Invitational on Saturday. The UIC freshman placed third overall in the 100-meter finals (11.12). Sayon also finished sixth in the 200m with a season-best time of 22.55 seconds.

Kyle Fetters
Wright State
So., West Milton, Ohio
Fetters set a personal best for the third straight week in the 5,000-meter run. The WSU sophomore posted a time of 15:49.53 at the All-Ohio Championships. He was the first WSU runner to cross the finish line as he placed 20th in the race.


Adam Kagarise
Youngstown State
So., Austintown, Ohio
Kagarise won the 400-meter dash in a school-record time of 47.53 at the Sparky Adams Invitational on Saturday. His time broke Scott Weiser's previous record of 48.11 that was set in 2004. Kagarise also added a second-place finish in the 200m.

Other Women's Top Performers for the Week
Amanda Smith
Detroit
Sr., Coopersville, Mich.
Smith posted two individual victories in the third annual Detroit-Oakland Dual, which was UDM's first campus track and field event in 46 years, last Thursday. Smith swept the hurdle events with a first-place tally in the 100-meter and 400-meter hurdlers, clocking a time of 16.0 and 64.8 seconds, respectively. Smith was also part of UDM's 4x400-meter relay team that took first with a performance of 4:03.8. At the EMU Twilight Invitational on Saturday, Smith placed fifth in the 400m hurdles with a season-best time of 64.08.

Christina James
Loyola
Sr., Rockford, Ill.
James recorded a time of 25.94 in the women's 200-meter dash and finished ninth in the event while competing at the Rankin Invitational on Saturday. James' time marked the first time this season she had run 200m under 27 seconds. The LU senior also placed fifth in the women's 100m with a time of 12.76.

Erin Havener
Milwaukee
So., Ashwaubenon, Wis.
Havener broke her own school record in the pole vault at the Rankin Invitational this past Saturday. The Wisconsin native cleared 12 feet, 3.50 inches to finish second in the event and surpass the record she set earlier this season by two inches.

Idara Essien
UIC
Sr., Wheaton, Ill.
Essien recorded UIC's best finish on the day as she placed second in the triple jump with a leap of 11.35 meters while competing at the Iowa Invitational on Saturday.

Ini Umana
Valparaiso
So., Cottage Grove, Minn.
Umana broke a nine-year-old school record in the discus throw, registering a mark of 141 feet, 6 inches for the event victory at the Puma Invitational on Saturday. In addition, the Valpo thrower placed third in shot put (35-5), second in javelin (94-6) and fifth in hammer (122-5).

Sierra Crayton
Wright State
Sr., Cahokia, Ill.
In her first competition with the WSU track squad, Crayton paced the Raiders in the shot put with a toss of 39 feet, 10.75 inches to place 20th at the All-Ohio Championships in Cincinnati, Ohio.