Senior Day: Ania Grzeszczak

MACON, Ga. – Throughout the month of April, Mercer University athletics will feature each of the seniors who wore the Black & Orange during the shortened spring 2020 season.

The NCAA has indicated that spring sports seniors could receive an extra season of eligibility and return, as the 2020 spring season would have been their final year of competition, all student-athletes representing Bears baseball, softball, men's golf, women's golf, men's tennis, women's tennis, men's lacrosse, women's lacrosse, beach volleyball and track and field will receive their "Senior Day" this spring.

The senior day spotlight continues with women's track and field's Ania Grzeszczak.

About Ania
Grzeszczak stepped foot on campus in 2017 and immediately made an impact on the track. As a freshman, she finished 10^th at the Southern Conference championships in the 5000-meter event with a time of 18:35.84 and earned All-Freshman recognition in the 3000-meter steeplechase with an eighth place finish and personal record of 11:32.90

The Jacksonville, Fla. native had a breakout season as a sophomore, competing in five meets and running the 10000-meter, 5000-meter, 3000-meter steeplechase, 1500-meter and 4x400-meter events. She broke Mercer's 3000-meter record with a time of 10:29.07 at the Tiger Track Classic (Apr. 14) and had a strong showing in the 10000-meter run at the SoCon Championships. In May's championship meet, she took fifth with a time of 38:35.72.

A preseason caused her to miss the 2019 season and she was primed for a strong redshirt junior campaign, her final season before graduation, but the campaign was cut short due to COVID-19.

She finished her career with eight mentions in the Bears track and field record book. Off the track, she was a two-time SoCon Honor Roll selection and made the Academic All-Conference team in the spring of 2018.

Coach's Thoughts
Ania is one of the most accomplished women's cross country and track athletes in Mercer's history with a several school records," said Josh Hayman, who leads the cross country program and is an assistant track and field coach. "She scored in the 5k and 10k at the SoCon Championships in 2018 and had led the team in XC in past seasons. She overcame double knee surgeries and a year off from training to help contribute to our program this fall. She battled and worked so hard to get back to peak fitness. I really looked forward to seeing her get a chance to show it off at the conference meet this spring. Ania is a special student-athlete who I know will be successful off the track upon graduation."

Follow the Bears
For complete coverage of Mercer Track & Field, follow the team at @MercerXCTF (Twitter), /mercerxctf (Facebook) and @mercerbearsxctf (Instagram) or visit the official home of Mercer Athletics at MercerBears.com.

Players Mentioned

Ania Grzeszczak

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