Week 5: GPAC Women's Outdoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week
(Sioux City, Iowa) – The Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) and Hauff Mid-America Sports are proud to announce the following women’s outdoor track & field athletes-of-the-week for events held April 15-21, 2024. Hauff Mid-America Sports is the presenting sponsor of the 2023-2024 GPAC Players-of-the-Week and Players and Coaches-of-the-Year awards program.
Hauff Mid-America Sports/GPAC Women's Indoor Track & Field Athletes-of-the-Week
Field Events – Kiara, Hastings College
Kiara Anderson of Hastings College is this week's field athlete-of-the-week. Anderson, a senior from Mesa, Arizona, the hammer throw at the Jim Dutcher Memorial with an "A" standard national qualifying mark of 53.99m. Anderson would finish second at the Kansas Relays in the hammer with a mark of 55.38m and was the top NAIA finisher by more than five meters and now sits fourth nationally. She won the discus with an "A" standard national qualifying throw of 48.19m which is her best of the year and places her fourth nationally and went on to finish third in the shot put with a mark of 13.34m.
Track Events – Jenna Esch, Concordia University
Concordia University's Jenna Esch is this week's track athlete-of-the-week. Esch, a junior from Hastings, Nebraska, doubled up with wins in the 400 and 800 meters at the Dutcher Classic. Her 400-meter time of 55.80 represented a personal best and moved her to No. 1 in the GPAC (No. 13 in the NAIA).