INDIANAPOLIS – The new calendar year of competition was underway for five institutions as Great Midwest Athletic Conference Men’s Indoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week awards were announced on Wednesday.
 
Men’s Track Athlete of the Week
Trevor Bassitt
Ashland
Sprints/Hurdles
Senior
Bluffton, OH (Bluffton HS)
 
A heavily decorated six-time NCAA indoor/outdoor champion, you would be hard pressed to dig up a more accomplished name than Bassitt, regardless of sport, in Division II.
 
In his first event with the Eagles as a new member of the Great Midwest, the senior star didn’t disappoint while breaking one of the longest standing records in conference history in the 60-meter hurdles.
 
Ashland was competing with Hillsdale and Findlay in a triangular meet as Bassitt ran the fastest time in Division II this year with a 7.75 in the event. In the finals, he clocked a 7.78, both times besting the previous league record that was held by Indianapolis Colts wide receiver and former Malone speedster Ashton Dulin.
 
Dulin had held the conference best in the 60-meter hurdles (7.93) since nationals in 2018 before embarking on his journey as an undrafted free agent to the NFL.
 
Bassitt also officially registered the 15th-fastest time in the world this year and it marked his first event since outdoor nationals in 2021 when the Eagles were national champs in the 4x400-meter relay.
 
Men’s Field Athlete of the Week
Ben Haas
Hillsdale
Throws
Freshman
Clarkston, MI (Clarkston HS)
 
As a freshman, Haas has thrown himself immediately into the mix of Division II’s best with a provisional mark in weight throw at the Hillsdale/Ashland/Findlay triangular meet.
 
The Great Midwest already has eight different student-athletes with provisional marks in the event, including Ashland’s Brent Fairbanks and Noah Koch leading the way.
 
Haas himself is already ranked 13th among all throwers following his effort of 18.84m (61’ 9.75”). He showed significant improvement from his collegiate debut in December at the GVSU Holiday Open with a more than respectable showing of 17.47m.
 
Haas would finish third in his first competition of 2022 only behind Fairbanks and Koch. He ranks fourth in the conference in the weight throw so far this season.