UF's Charingo and AU's Ash Chosen As GLIAC Women's Indoor Track and Field "Athletes of the Week," Respectively

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BAY CITY, Mich. - University of Findlay senior Stephanie Charingo (Medina, Ohio/Buckeye) and Ashland University sophomore Kelly Ash (Coshocton, Ohio) were named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) women's indoor track and field "Athletes of the Week," respectively.

GLIAC Women's Track Athlete of the Week:
Stephanie Charingo - Findlay
Senior, Sprints
Medina, Ohio/Buckeye

At the Boston University St. Valentine’s Invitational this past weekend, Stephanie Charnigo was a 3rd place collegiate finisher in the 800m. Her time of 2:10.63 is NCAA Divion II automatic qualifying time, ranks her second in Division II and first in the GLIAC.

GLIAC Women's Field Athlete of the Week:
Kelly Ash - Ashland
Sophomore, Throws
Coshocton, Ohio

Sophomore Kelly Ash continues to improve as the season moves closer and closer to the NCAA Championships. At the All-Ohio Championships, Ash competed in both the shot put and the weight throw. In the shot, she finished first and set a new national high this season with a throw of 15.28 meters. Winning in the shot put was not good enough for Ash though as she finished second in the weight throw (17.96 meters).

-----GLIAC Women's Indoor Track & Field Weekly Notes-----

Ashland Eagles

The AU women’s team competed at the All Ohio Championships this past Saturday (Feb. 13) at Bowling Green. In the field events, AU took two-out-of-three in the pentathlon; Lisa Roth finished second (3576) and Abby Kacsandi took third (3423).Tara Cooper won the weight throw (19.02) and her teammate Kelly Ash took second (17.96).The mark of 19.02 improves Cooper’s season best throw and continues to place her with the best throw in the nation this season. Ash also did some work in the shot put, winning the event with a throw of 15.28. Her throw in the shot was the longest throw in competition this season in NCAA Division II.AU also took two-out-of-three top spots in the high jump as well. Kacsandi finished first (1.70) and Lauren Piper ended in third (1.60). In the running events, Ashley Gregory finished in third in the 5000 meter run and Abbie Selhorst finished third in the 3000 meter run. AU competes on Saturday (Feb. 20) at the Kent State Tune-up.

Ferris State Bulldogs

The Ferris State University women’s indoor track and field teams posted impressive results in this weekend’s (Feb. 12-13) Grand Valley State “Big Meet.” Junior Tina Muir highlighted the Bulldogs’ performances with a first-place finish in the women’s 5,000-meter invitational field, surpassing the NCAA Division II Automatic Qualifying standard and broke her own school record in the event . Freshman Alyssa Osika was a provisional national qualifer with a 13th-place performance in the women’s mile run invitational (5:02.76). Freshman Anna Rudd also reached a provisional national time by coming in 16th overall in the 5,000 meters (17:31.49) with her finish time trailing only Muir’s top mark on the school’s all-time indoor chart. Up next for the Bulldogs is the annual Central Michigan Jack Skoog Open set for Friday, Feb. 19, in Mount Pleasant, Mich.

Findlay Oilers

Several members of The University of Findlay women’s indoor track and field team competed at the Valentine Invitational on Friday, February 12 in Boston, Massachusetts at the Boston University Track and Tennis Center. Stephanie Charnigo had an outstanding day, placing eighth in the 800-meter run with a time of 2:10.63. The time is currently the best mark in all of NCAA Division II women’s track and field.Lindsey Schmitmeyer finished 29th in the same event at 2:16.14

Grand Valley State Lakers

The Laker women competed in the GVSU Big Meet this past weekend (Feb. 12-13). Grand Valley State had two automatic qualifiers for the NCAA Indoor Championships and set a new school record at the meet. Chanelle Caldwell (Toledo, Ohio) automatically qualified herself in the 800-meter run. She crossed the finish line fourth, first overall among division II athletes, with a time of 2:10.76. The 4 x 400-meter relay team finished first and hit the automatic qualifying mark with a time of 3:45.26, which also set a new school record. In the 400-meter dash, Kayla Vallar (Marshall, Mich.) beat her previous provisional mark finishing fourth with a time of 55.85 seconds. GVSU had three Lakers hit the provisional mark in the mile, with Monica Kinney (Walker, Mich.) finishing third (4:35.24), Karie McDonald (Frankenmuth, Mich.) fourth (4:54.20) and Ashley Botham (Grand Rapids, Mich.) 11th (5:01.56). The DMR team finished first with a time of 11:53.39 and hit the provisional mark for the first time this season, while Eileen Creutz (Saline, Mich.) took home a first place finish in the 3k Open with a time of 10:22.24. In the field events, Emily McKerchie (Scottville, Mich.) placed fourth in the pole vault, which tied her previous provisional mark and Liz Murphy (Washington, Mich.) finished eighth, first among division II athletes, in the weight throw. Her throw of 59’11.25 beat her previous provisional mark. GVSU will host the GR Championships next Friday (Feb. 19).

Hillsdale Chargers

Hillsdale competed in the “Big Meet” hosted by Grand Valley State. Four runners on the women's team achieved lifetime-best times in key events for the Chargers, led by sophomore Jennifer Shaffer, who achieved that, as well as an NCAA provisional time in the 800 meter run. Shaffer finished the race in 2:12.07, around a second away from the NCAA automatic-qualifying time in that event. Senior Erin Cvengros and junior Ashley Quick set new career-bests in the 5K event, recording times of 17:52.12 and 17:56.65, respectively. Freshman Cathryn Humphries also set a lifetime-best time in the 200 at 25.24. Senior Jazmin Williams' time of 25.55 in that same event was a season-best, and she earned an NCAA provisional mark in the 400 with a 57.13.

Lake Superior State Lakers

The Lakers were idle this week and compete next on Feb. 19 at Central Michigan University.

Northern Michigan Wildcats

Brooke Granquist captured the indoor pentathlon at the Lake Superior Challenge Saturday with 2,872 points. Catherine Angeli took the 55-meter dash (7.45) with teammate Britnee Balbierz second (7.57) and the 200 (25.86) with Balbierz second (26.70).NMU had the top three places in the 5,000 as Olivia Juntila (19:14.26) won the events and was followed by Rita Woita (20:08.19) and Brittany Loomis (21:08.65). Bailey Franklin won the 55 hurdles (8.63).The 4x400 relay of Angeli, Erin VanEnkenvort, Rachhael Williams and Maegan Hendershot ran a 4:04.31 to take first. The field events saw the Wildcats pick up wins in the pole vault from Karin Diebold (10-05.50), Granquist in the long jump (16-06.50), Franklin in the triple jump (36-06.25) and Squiers in the weight throw (55-7.75).

Northwood Timberwolves

The Timerbwolves were idle this week and compete next on Feb. 19 at Central Michigan University.

Saginaw Valley State Cardinals

The Saginaw Valley State University women’s track and field team will be back in action Friday (Feb. 19), when it travels to Mt. Pleasant, Mich. to compete in the Central Michigan University Open.

Tiffin Dragons

Tiffin’s track squad traveled to Baldwin-Wallace and placed high in a number of events. For the women, Cara Roach was the weight throw champion with a toss of 46-4.25. Megan Gill was second in the high jump with 5-1.75.Other top finishers for the women were Letia Bland (55 meters, 3rd), Markita Holland (200, 3rd; 400, 5th), Kristen King (pole vault, 3rd), Kayla Ellks (long jump, 4th), and the 4x400 relay team (3rd place). Tiffin also competed at the Valentine Invitational in Boston, Massachusetts.There the women’s DMR (14th place) set a new school mark.