HUDSONVILLE, Mich. – At the conclusion of the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) Outdoor Championships, the conference has determined the members of the All-MIAA squads and named MVP's for both men's and women's track & field. Trine University had four total student-athletes represented on All-MIAA teams from the men's and women's programs.
Jake Gladieux was chosen as the 2024 MIAA Most Valuable Men's Track Athlete after winning two events and scoring points in two others to help lead the Thunder men to their fourth straight MIAA Outdoor Championship and ninth consecutive MIAA title. The senior from Oregon, Ohio has now won the MIAA Men's Track MVP award for the outdoor campaign for the first time in his career. It is the first time since 2015 that Trine has been awarded Men's Track MVP.
Gladieux was able to break the conference championship meet record in both the 110-meter and 400-meter hurdles. His finals times in each event were 14.23 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles and 52.10 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles. Gladieux is now a four-time MIAA champion in each of those events in his career. Along with his efforts in the hurdles, he was also a member of the 4x100 and 4x400-meter relay teams. Trine was third in each race, with times of 41.83 seconds in the 4x100-meter relay and 3:18.86 in the 4x400-meter relay.
Mackenzie Miller brought home four top three finishes for Trine, highlighted by an individual championship in the long jump, to earn All-MIAA accolades for the first time in her career. The junior from Paw Paw, Michigan just missed her personal best in the long jump at 5.44 meters (17' 10.25"), but it was enough to claim a conference championship in the event. Miller did set a new personal best time in the 200-meter dash at 25.33 seconds and ran a 12.25-second 100-meter dash to score third in both sprint events. Miller would also anchor the squad's 4x100-meter relay team that placed second with a time of 48.79 seconds.
Sophomore Bailey Puckett represented the Thunder women as an All-MIAA honoree thanks to her event win in the 1500-meter run. It was the sophomore's first time being named All-MIAA. The Cambridge City, Indiana native ran a personal best time of 4:33.01 to claim victory by more than two seconds over second place. Additionally, Puckett scored points for the team in the 5000-meter run. She crossed the line fifth at 18:22.70.
Sophomore thrower Abby Sanner was named All-MIAA for the first time by claiming first place in the discus. Sanner, from Warsaw, Indiana, won the conference championship with a best throw of 36.77 meters (120' 8.00"). She also set a new personal record in the shot put, an event where Sanner finished second overall. Her best throw of the day was recorded at 12.13 meters (39' 9.75").