ALLENDALE, Mich. - The U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association announced Emma Richards as the Midwest Region Women's Field Athlete of the Year on Monday, June 6. The Lakers track and field coaching staff received four awards. Head Coach Jerry Baltes was named the Midwest Region Men's and Women's Coach of the Year, assistant coach Reynaldo Radlin named Midwest Region Men's Assistant Coach of the Year, and assistant coach Matt Conly the Midwest Region Women's Assistant Coach of the Year. 

"Emma had a really fantastic season this spring," said assistant coach- throws Matt Conly. "She scored in both the shot put and the discus at the national meet and earned 9 points for the program at the NCAA Meet. Really great performances at the championships from a now veteran in the program. It is  a testament to how hard of a worker Emma is and the type of attention to detail she brings day in and day out. We are incredibly proud of the season she had!"

Richards placed fourth in shot put and fifth in discus at the NCAA DII Outdoor Track and Field Championships earning two First Team All-American honors. At the GLIAC Outdoor Championships, Richards placed first in both events and was named the GLIAC Women's Field Athlete of the Year. 

Coach Baltes led the men's team to their fourth consecutive GLIAC Outdoor Championship title as the team scored 302 points. The women's team won their 22nd consecutive conference championship with a score of 249.50 points. At the NCAA DII Championship, the men's team finished third with one individual national champion, Brandon Miller (200m). Elli Kimes (pole vault) and Judith Essemiah (hammer throw) won their field events for the women's team scoring 10 points each and leading the team to a second place finish. 

Coach Radlin's leaderships and motivation led the men's sprint/hurdles team to score 87 points at the GLIAC Championships. The sprints and hurdles squad qualifed three athletes and two relay teams into the NCAA Championships where they scored 17 points, including a win by Brandon Miller in the 200m. 

Coach Conly's guidance led the women's throws team to score 55 points at the GLIAC Championships, including hammer, discus, and shot put. Five female throw athletes qualified for the NCAA Championships where the squad brought in 34 points for the women's team.  Judith Essemiah won the hammer, Erika Beistle was second in the discus and Emma Richards scored in two events (shot put and discus).