GLIAC -- The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) has announced its second weekly awards of the 2020-21 outdoor track and field season. Once again, Grand Valley St. secured both weekly awards on the women's side, with Jessica Gockley earning track athlete of the week and senior teammate Judith Essemiah earning field athlete of the week. On the men's side, Ashland senior Trevor Bassitt earned Men's Track Athlete of the Week, while Grand Valley St. senior Justin Scavarda claimed Field Athlete of the Week.
WOMEN'S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK - Jessica Gockley, Grand Valley St.
Senior Jessica Gockley posted a 10,000m personal best at the Raleigh Relays as she crossed the finish line in 34:35.29. Gockley’s mark ranks her at the top of the division leaderboard for the season and third-best in program history. This is the first time in her career that the Traverse City, Mich. native has been selected as the GLIAC Track Athlete of the Week.
WOMEN'S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK - Judith Essemiah, Grand Valley St.
Judith Essemiah posted the top-three distances of the division in the hammer throw at the Adidas Trojan Challenge. The junior’s first-place finish of 63.22m took the top spot in program history and earned her an automatic qualification for the NCAA DII Outdoor National Championships, held at home at the GVSU Track & Field Stadium. This is the second GLIAC weekly honor of Essemiah’s career.
MEN'S TRACK ATHLETE OF THE WEEK - Trevor Bassitt, Ashland
Saturday in North Carolina, Bassitt won the 110-meter hurdles (13.59 seconds) and 400 hurdles (49.34), and was part of the winning 4x100 relay (40.08). All three of those efforts were new school records, all three put him in the 2021 NCAA Division II Outdoor Championships (May 27-29 at Grand Valley State), and two of those – 110 hurdles (fifth) and 400 hurdles (eighth) – put him in the top 10 all-time among men’s D-II athletes.
MEN'S FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK - Justin Scavarda, Grand Valley St.
In his first meet of the season, Justin Scavarda posted provisional marks in the shot put (18.27m) and discus throw (51.38m) at the Adidas Trojan Challenge on Saturday. The Laker senior’s shot put throw ranks him as the fourth-best attempt in the division and program history. This is the third time in his career that Scavarda has earned the GLIAC weekly mention.
