INDIANAPOLIS – The season openers were officially completed among several programs in the new season as Great Midwest Athletic Conference Women’s Indoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week awards were announced on Tuesday.
 
Track Athlete of the Week
Alexa Leppelmeier
Walsh
Distance
Graduate Student
Wauseon, OH
 
Picking up right where she left off as an All-American at the NCAA Championships in Florida, Leppelmeier showcased her talent at the Youngstown State Icebreaker.
 
The indoor season was off to a fast start for Leppelmeier as she produced an impressive time in her first go in the 5K.
 
Leppelmeier would win the event with a time of 16:48.30, which ranks second among all provisional qualifiers in Division II and checks in at fifth all-time in the conference record books.
 
Doubling as Great Midwest Runner of the Year at Cedarville to add to her successful fall cross country campaign, Leppelmeier also set a new indoor school record for the Cavaliers.
 
Field Athlete of the Week
Ndidiamaka Anaraodo
Walsh
Throws
Senior
Columbus, OH
 
To give a little more context on how close Walsh’s Anaraodo and Hillsdale’s Nikita Maines were during a competitive opening weekend for their respective programs, it shapes up to an intriguing battle to watch in the throws events this winter.
 
The Cavaliers’ senior posted provisional marks in both the shot put and the weight throw and while Maines did the same, Anaraodo had the slight edge in the latter event.
 
Anaraodo and Maines are in a three-way tie for the top mark in Division II in the shot put as the Cavaliers went to the Mount Union Toy Drive with their official distance at 15.16m.
 
From the first week of the season, Anaraodo is also ranked sixth in Division II in the weight throw at 19.03m. The senior posted top-10 conference bests in both events, tied for seventh in shot put and now second in weight throw.