Toledo, Ohio - The University of Toledo cross country and track & field program hosted its end-of-season banquet on Sunday where the Rockets celebrated their team accomplishments and honored their 14 graduating seniors.

"Congratulations to all of our award winners and our seniors," said head coach Linh Nguyen. "We like to take some time each year to celebrate the senior class and have them speak of their experiences and advice to the younger members of the team. This is a pretty special senior class, not just in their athletic accomplishments but the overall impact they've had on the program. We are going to miss them immensely but we know they will be successful in their future and continue to represent our program, athletic department, and university in the best way possible."
 
Seniors Olivia Chinn, Katie Dewey, Sally Frank, Nautica Hill, Joan Jepkirui, Christina Johnson,  Jennifer Lichter, Deja Martin, Janelle Noe, Madison Pierce, Shanice Williams, Josh Oeters, Brian Stubelt, and Jacob Wistinghausen headlined the event as they were honored for their collegiate careers.

The Rockets also recognized the hard work of their athletes with several awards for the 2018 calendar year, which included the 2018 track and cross country seasons. For last season's track awards, Noe was named Most Outstanding Track Athlete and junior Atalia Lima was named Most Outstanding Field Athlete. Noe and Dewey earned Most Improved Track and Field Athletes recognition. Williams (track) and  Lima (field) garnered Newcomer of the Year recognition as well, while Simiuc earned the  Rocket Award. The Rocket Award is awarded to a student-athlete who exemplifies what being a "Rocket" really means: positive energy, great teammate, 100% effort and grit. 

The women's cross country team honored junior Athena Welsh as Most Outstanding Runner and freshman Claire Steigerwald as Newcomer of the Year. Junior Roma Lucarelli earned a nod as Most Improved Runner, and senior Jordan Doore was named the Rocket Award recipient. 

The men's cross country team named junior Dismas Koech the Most Outstanding Runner, and freshman Jake Papish was named Newcomer of the Year. Senior Matthew Gibbons received a nod for Most Improved Runner and senior Brian Stubelt was named as the Rocket Award recipient. 
 
In the fall, the women's cross country team took second at the Mid-American Conference Championships with 80 points, a mere four points behind Eastern Michigan who took the title. At the NCAA Regionals, Toledo took ninth with a score of 297 points. Welsh led the Rockets with a 17th place finish (20:55.2). Welsh's finish at regionals punched her ticket to the NCAA Championships, where she went on to finish 85th with a time of 20:59.1.
 
The men's cross country team took ninth in the MAC Championships and finished 27th at the NCAA Regionals.
 
The women's track and field team finished fourth at the MAC Indoor Championship this past February, with Williams defending her 60m dash title, Welsh earning the title for the 5000m, and junior Atalia Lima becoming the first Rocket to win the pentathlon. Also during the indoor portion of the season, senior Petronela Simiuc became No. 3 all-time at Toledo for the mile with a time of 4:42.92 on Feb. 8, and Noe set the school record in the indoor 800m with a time of 2:09.20 on Feb. 2.  During the outdoor season, Welsh became the first Rocket to break the 16-minute mark on the 5K, posting a new school record of 15:58.95.
 
Up Next
Toledo is set to compete in the Len Paddock Open in Ann Arbor, Michigan on May 3 before heading the Muncie, Ind. for the MAC Outdoor Championships on Thursday, May 9 - Saturday, May 11.
 
2018 Toledo Track & Field/Cross Country Awards

2018 Women's Track & Field
Most Outstanding Track Athlete: Janelle Noe
Most Outstanding Field Athlete: Atalia Lima
Track Newcomer of the Year: Shanice Williams
Field Newcomer of the Year: Atalia Lima
Most Improved Track Athlete: Janelle Noe
Most Improved Field Athlete: Katie Dewey
Rocket Award: Petronela Simiuc
 
2018 Women's Cross Country
Most Outstanding Runner: Athena Welsh
Newcomer of the Year: Claire Steigerwald
Most Improved: Roma Lucarelli
Rocket Award: Jordan Doore
 
2018 Men's Cross Country
Most Outstanding Runner: Dismas Koech
Newcomer of the Year: Jake Papish
Most Improved: Matthew Gibbons
Rocket Award: Brian Stubelt