FERRIS TRACK & FIELD ATHLETES BRING HOME ALL-AMERICA HONORS

Bulldogs Notch Top-Eight Finishes In Three Different Events

Jenny Irwin

Joe Mielke

Leanna Wolf

Mikinzie Stuart

Chandra Robinson

The Ferris State University men's and women's track and field program brought home All-America honors in three different events from the NCAA Division II Indoor Track and Field Championships held Friday and Saturday (March 10-11) at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center in Boston, Mass.

The Bulldog contigent competing at the national meet included seniors Jenny Irwin (Scottville/Mason County Central) and Leanna Wolf (Fountain/Mason County Central) along with sophomores Chandra Robinson (Warren/Mott), Kamitra Carroll (Flint/Carman-Ainsworth), Joe Mielke (Westland/Franklin) and freshman Mikinzie Stuart (Saginaw/Nouvel).

A total of 400 student-athletes qualified for the meet by reaching the automatic or provisional standards established for each event. Stonehill College and the Reggie Lewis Center at Roxbury Community College are serving as hosts of the championships. The top eight finishers in each event earned All-America recognition.

Irwin earned All-America laurels with a fourth-place overall finish in the mile run as she turned in a time of 4:49.13 in Saturday's final round. She previously posted the sixth-highest qualifying time with a 5:00.81 in Friday's preliminary competition.

Mielke, too, earned All-America recognition as he finished fourth in the high jump with a leap of 6-11 in Saturday's event.

In day one action on Friday, Ferris netted one point as the school's distance medley relay team of Wolf, Stuart, Robinson and Irwin placed eighth overall in a time of 11:50.40 to earn All-America accolades. Wolf, Irwin and Robinson were part of a Bulldog contingent which also placed eighth nationally a year ago.

Wolf clocked 2:16.00 in finishing 12th overall in the preliminary round of the 800 meters on Friday. Carroll took 11th in the shot put competition with a toss of 45-2.50 in Friday's final round of the event.

The Bulldog women totaled six points at the national meet while the men's squad compiled five points with Mielke's performance.

Mielke was the first male performer to represent Ferris State at the national meet since the program was reinstated in 1999. Former Bulldog competitor Chad Smith was the most recent member of the men's program to attain All-America recognition when he took third place in the decathlon at the 1993 NCAA-II Outdoor Championships.

The Ferris State women had eight individual All-America indoor performances in school history along with two top-eight showings in relay events prior to this season's national meet. The school's most recent indoor All-America individual showings before this campaign came in 2002 when former student-athletes Katie Chapman (800 meters), Morgan Buckner (60-meter hurdles) and Tianna Kirkland (shot put) all placed among the top eight individuals.

Robinson, Wolf and Irwin joined former Bulldog runner Geneva Jones to pick up indoor All-America accolades last campaign with a eighth-place performance (11:56.52) in the distance medley relay at the national meet (3/11-12/05) held inside the Reggie Lewis Center.

Complete results are available at the link below: