Wayne State University Athletics

Women's Track & Field 6/21/2023 8:44:00 AM Jeff Weiss, Senior Associate Director of Athletics/Media Relations

Women's Track and Field Has 27 Student-Athletes Receive Academic All-GLIAC Recognition

WSU sets school record with 18 Excellence Team recipients.

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University women's outdoor track and field squad shattered the previous school record (21) with 27 GLIAC All-Academic honorees. In addition, the Warriors set a new school record with 18 All-Academic Excellence recipients (previous record was 16 from the 2020-21 academic year). The WSU women's outdoor track and field squad has had 142 All-Academic honorees in the last eight years.

Named to the GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team for maintaining a cumulative grade-point average of at least 3.5 were graduate students Kaleigh Flowers (Grand Rapids, Mich. / East Kentwood) and Teanna McCuaig (Sparta, Mich. / Kent City), seniors Thailyia Christensen (Flushing, Mich.), Cameron Martella (Gaylord, Mich.), Katherine Ray (Novi, Mich.), Makenzie Wank (Richland, Mich. / Gull Lake), Mikayla Williams (St. Charles, Mich.) and Charlene Yarema (Romeo, Mich.), juniors Emily Esker (Livonia, Mich. / Franklin) and Mikaela Owen (Bridgman, Mich.), along with sophomores Robin Bresolin (LaSalle, Ont. / St. Thomas of Villanova), Kynnedee Cowles (Detroit, Mich./Renaissance), Natalie Davies (Chelsea, Mich.), Mattie Drennan (Clarkston, Mich.), Renae Kutcha (Jackson, Mich. / Lumen Christi), Layla Martini (Casnovia, Mich. / Kent City), Lexi Movsesian (Macomb, Mich. / Lutheran North) and Makenzie Wellner (Menominee, Mich.).

Christensen (Marketing), Martella (Public Health Honors), Ray (Sport Management), Wank (Biomedical Engineering Honors), Williams (Management) and Yarema (Communication Sciences and Disorders) earned All-Academic Excellence Team honors for the third consecutive outdoor season. Esker (Mathematics) and Owen (Design) were recognized for the second consecutive year in outdoor track. Bresolin (Environmental Science), Cowles (Management), Davies (Journalism), Drennan (Exercise & Sport Science), Kutcha (Marketing), Martini (Environmental Science), Movsesian (Public Health) and Wellner (Exercise & Sport Science) are recipients in their first season eligible. Flowers (master's in Exercise & Sport Science) received her first Academic award, while McCuaig (master's in Sports Administration) earned her first Excellence award after earning a spot on the All-Academic Team the previous three seasons.

Wayne State had nine representatives on the All-Academic Team for having a cumulative GPA between 3.0 and 3.49. This group consisted of redshirt seniors Ashley Defrain [Ash Goldyn] (Fort Gratiot, Mich. / Port Huron Northern) ans Izzy Taylor (Three Rivers, Mich.), seniors MaKayla Rawls (Detroit, Mich. / Birmingham Seaholm) and Makayla Sumrall (Roseville, Mich.), junior Macie Ries (Mason, Mich.), along with sophomores Emily Gordon (Northville, Mich.), Reagan Justice (Canton, Mich. / Salem), Kay-Lee McSwain (Ann Arbor, Mich. / Huron) and Annalee Misch (Macomb, Mich. / Utica Eisenhower).

Defrain [Goldyn] (Geology) and Taylor (Management) garnered their fourth straight GLIAC All-Academic recognition, while Sumrall (Neuroscience) received her third academic award. Rawls (Political Science) notched her second academic certificate after transferring from Western Michigan in the Fall of 2020, while Ries (Accounting) earned her second academic award. Gordon (Nursing), Justice (Elementary Education), McSwain (Psychology), Misch (Management Information Systems) were all first-year eligible.

Wayne State set a school record with 254 Academic All-GLIAC honorees during the 2022-23 academic year. WSU has produced 2,071 Academic All-GLIAC recipients over the last 11 years.

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Players Mentioned

Robin Bresolin: Mid-Distance; 5' 3"; Sophomore; 2-Indoor/2-Outdoor

Thailyia Christensen: Mid-Distance; 5' 3"; Senior; 4-Indoor/3-Outdoor

Kynnedee Cowles: Mid-Distance; 5' 2"; Sophomore; 1-Indoor/1-Outdoor

Natalie Davies: Distance; 5' 6"; Sophomore; 1-Indoor/1-Outdoor

Ashley Defrain: Distance; 5' 4"; Redshirt Senior; 5-Indoor/3-Outdoor

Mattie Drennan: Distance; 5' 6"; Sophomore; 2-Indoor/2-Outdoor

Emily Esker: Mid-Distance; 5' 7"; Junior; 3-Indoor/3-Outdoor

Kaleigh Flowers: Throws; 6' 2"; Graduate Student; 5-Indoor/3-Outdoor

Emily Gordon: Mid-Distance; 5' 7"; Sophomore; 2-Indoor/2-Outdoor

Reagan Justice: Distance; 5' 4"; Sophomore; 2-Indoor/2-Outdoor

Players Mentioned

Robin Bresolin
: 5' 3"; Sophomore; 2-Indoor/2-Outdoor
: Mid-Distance

Thailyia Christensen
: 5' 3"; Senior; 4-Indoor/3-Outdoor
: Mid-Distance

Kynnedee Cowles
: 5' 2"; Sophomore; 1-Indoor/1-Outdoor
: Mid-Distance

Natalie Davies
: 5' 6"; Sophomore; 1-Indoor/1-Outdoor
: Distance

Ashley Defrain
: 5' 4"; Redshirt Senior; 5-Indoor/3-Outdoor
: Distance

Mattie Drennan
: 5' 6"; Sophomore; 2-Indoor/2-Outdoor
: Distance

Emily Esker
: 5' 7"; Junior; 3-Indoor/3-Outdoor
: Mid-Distance

Kaleigh Flowers
: 6' 2"; Graduate Student; 5-Indoor/3-Outdoor
: Throws

Emily Gordon
: 5' 7"; Sophomore; 2-Indoor/2-Outdoor
: Mid-Distance

Reagan Justice
: 5' 4"; Sophomore; 2-Indoor/2-Outdoor
: Distance