Eastern Michigan Athletics
Four Tracksters Named to Academic All-MAC Squad
6/11/2008 11:19:12 AM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
Brent, Karanja, Walther and Green earn the outdoor honor for the first time
CLEVELAND, Ohio —
The Eastern Michigan University men's and women's track and field programs had four athletes named to the Academic All-Mid-American Conference squad, the conference announced today (June 11). The teams are selected by the league faculty athletic representatives.
David Brent (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary's Catholic), Josh Karanja (Ottawa, Canda-Nepean), Oliver Walther (Erfurt, Germany-Pierre-de-Coubertin Gymnasium) and Melissa Green (Brecksville, Ohio-Broadview Heights) were all first time outdoor honorees.
Brent, a mathematics major with a 3.35 GPA, was an NCAA Regional Qualifier in the 1,500 meters and the steeplechase, running 3:47.64 in the 1,500 and 9:03.53 in the steeple at the Stanford Invitational (April 4-5). He was also selected second team All-MAC after finishing second in the 1,500 meters and was eighth in the 800 meters MAC Championship (May 15-17). He was the MAC Track Athlete of the Week for the period ending May 11, for his efforts at the Len Paddock Invite (May 9-10), where he finished eighth in the 800 meters while running the fastest time in the MAC this season (1:50.45), just five-thousandths of a second off of qualifying for his third event at the regional championship.
Karanja, a political science major with a 3.23 GPA, was an NCAA Outdoor Regional qualifier in the steeplechase, qualifying at the Stanford Invitational, running 8:58.57, the second-best time in the MAC this season. He finished second in the steeplechase, third in the 5,000 meters and fourth in the 10,000 meters at the Outdoor MAC Championship and was named second team All-MAC. He won the 5,000 meters at the Toledo Invitational (May 3), running 14:48.76 and finished third in the steeplechase (9:00.78) at the Hillsdale Relays (April 24-26).
Walther, an international business major with a 3.95 GPA, took second in the long jump at the MAC Outdoor Championship, earning second-team All-MAC honors and was fourth in the triple jump at the MAC Championship. He was also part of the winning 4x100-meter relay team that earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Regional Championship at the conference meet. He finished third in the triple (44-03.50) and tied for seventh in the long jump (22-03.00) at the Len Paddock Invite and jumped 46-09.00 at the Drake Relays (April 24-26). He finished fourth in the long jump (22-04.50) and fifth in the triple jump (45-10.00) at the EMU Invite (April 19). He took second in the triple jump (44-09.50) and fourth in the long jump (21-20.75) at the CMU Dual (April 5).
Green, a chemistry major with a 3.35 GPA, is the school record-holder in the steeplechase, running an NCAA Regional qualifying mark of 10:48.14 at the Stanford Invitational. She finished third at the MAC Outdoor Championships in the 3,000 meter steeplechase and was fifth in the 5,000. She won the 5,000 meter run at the EMU invite in 17:20.00, while also taking the win in the 3,000 meters (10:18.91) and second in the 1,500 meters (4:53.04) at the Jack Shaw Invitational (May 3). At the Drake Relays, Green finished 14th in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 10:54.44, the second best time in the event in her career.
To qualify, a student-athlete must have at least a 3.20 cumulative GPA and have participated in at least 50 percent of the contests for that particular sport. First-year students and junior college transfers in their first year of residence are not eligible for the award.
2008 Men's Outdoor Track Academic All-MAC
Name School Year Major GPA
David Brent EMU Jr. Mathematics 3.35
Josh Karanja EMU Jr. Political Science 3.22
Oliver Walther EMU So. International Business 3.95
Mike Baraona Akron Jr. Mechanical Engineering 3.453
Weston Lott Akron Jr. Graphic Design 3.385
P.J. Godios Buffalo Sr. Communication 3.448
Jesse Mang Buffalo Sr. Media Studies 3.519
Sean Anthony CMU Sr. Mechanical Engineering 3.90
Andrew Manning CMU Sr. Mechanical Engineering 3.60
Matt Loiselle CMU Sr. Accounting 3.21
Tony Jordanek KSU Jr. Accounting 3.45
Jaroslaw Zakrzewski KSU Sr. Business Management 3.82
Patrick Sovacool Miami Jr. Zoology 3.60
Michael Veatch Miami Sr. Physical Education 3.49
Dan Beach Miami Sr. Finance 3.45
Paul Krebs Miami So. Zoology 3.95
Kevin Silver Miami Jr. Accountancy and Finance 3.79
Jake Kuhner Miami Sr. Physical Education 3.20
2008 Women's Outdoor Track Academic All-MAC
Name School Year GPA Major
Melissa Green EMU Jr. 3.23 Chemistry
Larisa Arcip Akron So. 3.314 Psychology
Jessica Miller-Hafner Akron Sr. 3.351 AYA/Integrated Language Arts
Niesha Kelly Akron So. 3.242 Exercise Science
Valerie Wert Akron So. 3.77 Art Education
Cara Collins Ball State Sr. 3.88 Public Relations
Ali Bishel Ball State So. 3.71 Landscape Architecture
Amanda Barnhart Ball State Sr. 3.66 Elementary Education
Patrice Coney Buffalo Sr. 3.342 Nursing
Carrie Hinners Buffalo Sr. 3.771 Environmental Engineering
Mary Veith Buffalo Jr. 3.695 Chemistry
Elizabeth Carpenter CMU Jr. 3.72 Biology
Kelly McClure CMU Jr. 3.97 Health Fitness
Amanda Rudert CMU So. 3.88 Biology
Andrea Bryson KSU Sr. 3.408 Gerontology
Anne Zakelj KSU Sr. 3.707 Visual Communication
Kristina Bolterstein Miami Sr. 3.66 Zoology and Environmental Science
Rebekah Hollander Miami Jr. 3.54 Finance and Spanish
Meghan Ginter NIU Jr. 3.94 Nursing
Emily Amendola Ohio So. 3.6078 Exercise Physiology
Carime Reinhart Ohio Sr. 3.9813 Speech Pathology
Jessie Tanner Ohio Jr. 3.9859 Accounting
Jennifer Roberts WMU Jr. 3.97 Nursing
