RUSSELLVILLE, Ark. – Jade Byrd, Alexander Schovanec, and Mary McKey nearly swept the GAC's men's and women's track and field weekly accolades on Wednesday afternoon, following impressive performances at the John Jacobs Invitational over the weekend.
Byrd was named the Field Athlete of the Week, while McKey garnered the track portion of the award. Schovanec was tabbed Field Athlete of the Week on the men's side.
Oklahoma Baptist has now had a Track or Field Athlete of the Week nine times since the start of the outdoor season, highlighted by seven from the women.
For Byrd, it is the first of the season and the third of her career. On Saturday, Byrd broke the school record in the discus with a heave of 49.93m (163-10) that placed fifth overall and first among Division II competitors. She shattered the program mark of 47.03 (154-3) set by Paige Kannady in 2014. The throw ranked as the fourth-furthest throw in the nation.
Byrd also partook in the hammer throw, where her personal-best mark of 43.89m (144-0) placed 13th.
Schovanec, a junior from Tecumseh, Okla., earns the first GAC weekly accolade of his career. He competed in three events - discus, shot put, and hammer. His discus throw of 52.40m (171-11) represented a personal best, earned him an NCAA provisional mark, and ranked 14th in the country. Schovanec's 16.11m (52-10.25) effort in the shot put gave him the top best in the GAC, while his 47.31m (155-2) mark in the hammer placed 16th at the event.
McKey repeated as the Track Athlete of the Week after she again registered an NCAA provisional time in the 400m hurdles. She ran a winning time of 1:01.67, the second-fastest time on the squad this season. It is her fourth career conference Track Athlete of the Week award and her second in 2023.
McKey also took sixth in the 100 hurdles (14.74) and ran the anchor legs on the 4x100 and 4x400 relays. The 4x100 team finished second, and the 4x400 squad placed third.
OBU returns to action this weekend at the Corky/Crofoot Shootout in Lubbock, Texas.
