Bradley University Athletics

2017-18 Varsity Club Most Outstanding Athletes

Volleyball's Erica Haslag and Track's Michael Ward Named 2017-18 Varsity Club Most Outstanding Athletes

Bobby Parker, Associate AD for Communications General 7/6/2018 10:23:00 AM

PEORIA, IL – One of the nation's top attackers and a double conference champion have been recognized as Bradley University Varsity Club's Most Outstanding Female and Male Athletes for the 2017-18 competition year, according to a vote of department staff, local media and fans announced Friday.

Both returning student-athletes, volleyball player Erica Haslag (Jefferson City, MO/Helias Catholic H.S.) is the Female Most Outstanding Athlete and distance runner Michael Ward (Cardiff, South Wales/Llanishen School) is the Male Most Outstanding Athlete.

Haslag joins Bradley Athletics Hall of Famer Lindsay Stalzer (2006) as the only volleyball winners of the Varsity Club Female Most Outstanding Athlete. As a junior outside hitter during the 2017 season, Haslag also was honored as Bradley Volleyball's first All-Missouri Valley Conference first-team selection since Stalzer in 2005. She ranked among the nation's top 21 players in four attack categories: total kills (530, 11th); total points (584, 15th); kills per set (4.38, 18th); and points per set (4.83, 21st).

Haslag's 530 kills were second in The Valley last season and represented the second-best total in Bradley Volleyball history. She also became the first player in Bradley history to collect at least 500 kills, 25 aces, 375 digs and 45 blocks in a single season.

Although he redshirted the cross country and outdoor track seasons, Ward dominated the indoor track campaign, sweeping the grueling "distance double" at the 2018 Missouri Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championship by winning both the 3,000m and 5,000m races. The first-ever Bradley runner to sweep the MVC Indoor "distance double," Ward also set the school record in the 3,000m at the Washington Invitational.

Ward became just the second runner in The Valley in the past decade to break the eight-minute mark in the 3,000m by clocking 7:58.64 at Washington. His school-record time went down as the 36th-fastest in the 3,000m in 2018 and was more than 14 seconds quicker than the second-best time in The Valley this year.

Ward makes the Bradley track program a repeat winner of the Varsity Club Most Outstanding Athlete, following Daniel Gagne in 2017. They are the first men's track athletes to earn the award since Jim Potter in 1973.

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