May 19, 2003

After the Mid-American Conference Championships finished, the MAC office announced that juniors Lauren Collins (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central), Andrea Kremer (Indianapolis, Ind./Bishop Chatard), Erin Connolly (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) and Bernitta Johnson (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./GAR Memorial) all earned all-MAC status while head coach Richard Ceronie was named MAC Coach of the Year.

In addition to being named to the all-MAC first-team, Collins earned the Most Valuable Performance at the MAC Tournament after she scored 28 individual points. Collins personal record throw of 193'07" in the hammer crushed the MAC meet record by nearly nine feet and also the track record by the same distance for first place. Collins' throw also beat the Miami record by almost 21 feet. In the shot put, Collins broke the Miami school record with a mark of 49'01.5" to also give Miami 10 points for first place. Collins took second in the discus with a 153'10" mark.

Kremer, who also earned first-team honors, crushed the 3,000-meter steeplechase competition as she won by nearly 11 seconds with a track-record time of 10:22.40. Kremer also set a track-record time in the 5,000-meter run as she finished in 16:48.90. Kremer's time was the sixth fastest in Miami history. Kremer also took sixth in the 1,500-meter run with a 4:32.40 mark. Kremer scored 23 individual points for Miami.

Connolly was the third RedHawk athlete to place first at the MAC Championships and earn first-team all-MAC honors. Connolly set a track record time in the 100-meter hurdles with a 0:13.69 mark. Connolly's personal record time moves her to second all-time on Miami's top-ten list.

Johnson was the final all-MAC performer from Miami as she earned second-team honors. Johnson placed second in the triple jump with a 41'07" mark for eight team points.

Ceronie earned his second MAC Coach of the Year award in his 19 seasons as head coach at Miami. With Miami's second place finish this season, Ceronie led Miami to its best track and field finish since 1986, when Miami won the conference crown.

All five individuals will be taking their MAC honors to Columbus, Ohio where they will join a few other Miami track and field athletes at the NCAA Regionals on May 30th.