FREELAND, Mich. -- Trine's Kara Eck was named the MIAA Women's Field MVP, the conference announced today.
Eck (Auburn, Ind. / DeKalb) won the hammer throw and shot put to lead the Thunder to a fourth-place finish at MIAA Field Day. The junior set a conference record with a toss of 57.02 meters (187 feet, 1 inch). Eck broke the MIAA record she had previously set at MIAA Field Day in 2016 to win her third consecutive MIAA title in the event. She won her second consecutive conference title the shot put with a throw of 13.59 meters (44 feet, 7 inches). Eck also scored in the discus with a seventh-place finish.
The honor is Eck's second outdoor Field MVP honor from the conference. Eck also won MIAA Field MVP honors for her performance in conference's indoor championship this year, giving her the sweep of both of the highest women's field awards.
Eck is poised for another return to the NCAA Division III Outdoor Track and Field National Championship meet. She ranks second in the nation in the hammer throw after a school-record toss of 57.62 meters (189 feet) in the Indiana Little State Championships at Taylor University. Eck is also tied for 15th in the nation in the shot put.
Eck previously won All-America honors in the hammer throw in 2016, placing fifth at the national meet. She has won four combined indoor and outdoor All-America honors in her career, including a seventh-place finish in the weight throw at the 2017 national meet. Eck's next All-America honor will give her the most All-America honors by any student-athlete in any sport in school history.
This year's Outdoor Track and Field National Championship will be held May 25-27 at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.
Paced by Eck, the women's track and field team placed fourth at MIAA Field Day to earn the team's best outdoor finish since joining the conference in 2004. Members of the team will compete in last-chance meets over the next two weeks in hopes of earning and solidifying bids to the national meet.