Ferris thrower earns athlete of the week honors
Ferris men’s track and field senior Cody Stilwell has been named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference athlete of the week.
Stilwell won the men’s hammer throw at the Hillsdale Invitational and Stilwell had a NCAA Division II National Provisional qualifying distance of 60.06 meters. He is ranked fourth in the GLIAC and 15th nationally.
Stilwell has earned All-American honors twice since his time as a collegiate thrower. He was an All-GLIAC honoree in both men’s indoor and outdoor track for the 2018 season, and named to the GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team.
For 2019, Stilwell had a season-best throw of 20.25 meters. With this throw, Stilwell became the first Ferris male thrower to earn indoor All-America recognition since 1990. Stilwell is also the first male Bulldog to earn All-American honors in the men’s weight throw.
Stilwell finished the season among the top five throwers in six of his competitions, with two first place performances and four top-three efforts. Stilwell led Ferris with a fifth-place finish in the weight throw at the 2019 GLIAC indoor championship.
Ferris hockey alum wins top defensemen
Ferris hockey alum Zach Redmond won the Eddie Shore Award as the American Hockey League’s top defenseman of 2019.
Redmond was a former Bulldog that played hockey from 2007 — 2011. After graduation, the Traverse City native made his National Hockey League debut in 2012 when he played eight games for the Jets until a leg injury shortened his season.
Redmond plays for the AHL’s Rochester Americans, which is the top affiliate of the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres. Redmond claimed the defenseman title for the first time in his career with an impressive season.
This award is voted on by coaches, players and media members in each of the AHL’s 31 cities with Redmond being just the third Rochester player to win the award in their franchise long 63 seasons.
Redmond had 21 goals and 50 points scored this season, which are both career highs for him. In the 58 games that Redmond played, his goal total broke a 46 year-old franchise record for a defenseman which was previously held by Rick Pagnutti. Redmond also led all AHL defenders this season as the top dog.
Redmond has won the Amerk’s Booster Club’s Most Valuable Player and Most Popular Player awards, along with being named on the AHL First-Team All-Star.
As a 2008 seventh-round NHL entry draft pick, which is 184th overall by the Atlanta Thrashers, Redmond has moved throughout the hockey ranks from playing in the NHL and AHL. Redmond is proving that he is a strong and competitive hockey player who was worth more than a seventh-round pick.