GLIAC -- The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) has announced its fourth weekly awards of the 2023-24 indoor track & field season. Davenport freshman Nik Shilling and Grand Valley State senior Natalie Graber earned track athlete of the week accolades while Grand Valley State senior Myles Kerner and Saginaw Valley State senior Cheyenne Williamson received field athlete of the week honors.
MEN'S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK - Nik Shilling, Davenport
Nik Shilling won the 800 meters and broke the school record with a time of 1:51.08. In addition, he also hit the NCAA qualifying mark and is currently ninth in Division II.
WOMEN'S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK - Natalie Graber, Grand Valley State
Natalie Graber earns her first GLIAC Track Athlete of the Week honors in the 2024 season after dominating the track in the women's mile invite at the Bill Clinger Classic. Graber recorded a first-place finish for the Lakers, with a new personal-best time of 4:42.53, eight seconds faster than the next runner. Graber now finds herself sitting in the No.1 spot on the USTFCCCA Division II Top 25 list.
MEN'S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK - Myles Kerner, Grand Valley State
Myles Kerner earns his first GLIAC Field Athlete of the Week honors of the season after earning first-place in the men's shot put invite at the Bill Clinger Classic on Friday, January 26th. Kerner threw for a distance of 19.32, just shy of the Kelly Family Sports Center record (19.57m) held by Kerner himself. After his performance last weekend, Kerner jumped to the No. 9 spot on the USTFCCCA Collegiate Top 25 list and continues to claim the No.1 spot in Division II.
WOMEN'S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK - Cheyenne Williamson, Saginaw Valley State
Senior Cheyenne Williamson won the pentathlon at the USA Track & Field Indoor Combined Events Championships held in Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon. Williamson finished 57 points ahead of the second-place finisher with 4,475 total points after her five events, setting a new NCAA Division II record with her final tally. Her day was highlighted in the high jump where she cleared the bar for a new school record height of 1.83m. Her next-best finish was a third-place time of 2:17.41 in the 800m (the final event of the pentathlon). She rounded out her final score with two fourth-place results (60m hurdles & shot put). She ran the 60 hurdles in 8.43 seconds and threw the shot 13.05m for her final marks. A leap of 5.96m in the long jump placed her fifth, making her the only athlete to achieve a top-five finish in all events.
