Male and Scholar Athlete of the Week: October 24-30
Eastern Michigan Terefe Ejigu (cross country)
Terefe Ejigu (cross country, Jr., 3.53, international affairs) earned First Team All-MAC honors after pacing the Green and White to its 16th league title at the 2011 MAC Cross Country Championships. The junior maintained a 4:54 pace throughout the meet, helping him put together a 26:16.0 performance.
Other Male Nominees:
Buffalo: John Inzina (cross country, Sr., 3.524, electrical engineering) earned All-MAC honors at the league championship meet as the Bulls finished third overall, their highest finish since joining the league. Inzina finished eighth in 24:47.0 for the 8K race to gain a spot on the All-MAC Second Team. His time was more than a minute better than his previous best 8K mark of the season.
Central Michigan: Jason Drudge (cross country, Jr., 3.10, health fitness) finished sixth at the Mid-American Conference Championships in DeKalb, Ill., Saturday in a personal best 24:41.8 to earn All-MAC honors for the second-straight season. The junior helped the Chippewas earn a second place finish, just 10 points behind champion Eastern Michigan.
Kent State: Kevin Miller (golf, Jr., 3.45, business management) was named Mid-American Conference Golfer of the Week, turned in his finest tournament of the fall season this past week as Kent State finished in a tie for ninth place at the prestigious U.S. Collegiate Championship. Led by a final round 1-under from Miller, the Golden Flashes shot 3-over 291 on Tuesday and closed out play at the par 72 Golf Club of Georgia with a 10-over 874 (295-288-291). In a 14-team event that included 11 teams ranked in the top 30 by golfstat.com, Miller tied for 10th with a season low 2-under 214 (69-74-71). Holding onto a tie for 16th at the start of the final round, the Kent State junior was steady throughout the final round making birdies on No. 4 and 13 and just one bogey on No. 16. Kent State is currently ranked No. 14 in the country by Golfweek and No. 23 by Golfstat.com.
Miami: Anthony Kokal (football, safety, R-Sr., 3.23, accountancy (graduate school) led Miami’s defense in a 41-13 victory over MAC rival Buffalo Saturday in Oxford. He finished with a team-high eight tackles, including five solo stops, while also recovering a fumble, his second recovery of the season, and intercepting a pass, his third career interception. After UB scored both its touchdowns in the first quarter, Miami’s defense shut down the Bulls over the final 45 minutes, holding them scoreless, including a four-play goal-line stand from the 1-yard line in the fourth quarter, which Kokal made two tackles during to keep them out of the end zone.
Northern Illinois: Pat Sloan (soccer, defense, Sr., 3.292, finance) played all 90 minutes and netted the opening goal in a 3-0 victory over Bowling Green and the NIU men’s soccer team improved to 11-4 and clinched NIU a berth in the Mid-American Conference Tournament. The goal was the fourth of the season for the Lisle, Ill., native, his second during conference play. All four of Sloan’s goals this season have been game winners.
Western Michigan: John Potter (football, kicker, Sr., 3.98, business) drove home six extra points and sealed the Broncos' 10-point win with a 40-yard field goal with less than two minutes remaining against Ball State. His nine points gives him 298 for his career, which is 10 away from breaking the WMU career scoring record (307). He has made 105 straight PATs, which is four away from passing NIU's Chris Nendick for second on the MAC career list. Potter also became Western Michigan's all-time leader in career PATs made, passing former record holder Brad Selent. He had eight kick offs with three touch backs against the Cardinals as well.