Ferris State's Cody Stilwell and Katie Etelamaki Earn All-America Second Team Honors At D2 National Championships

Big Rapids, Mich. - A pair of Ferris State University student-athletes, senior thrower Cody Stilwell (Cadillac) and junior Katie Etelamaki (Ishpeming/Westwood), both earned All-America Second Team accolades with ninth-place finishes in their respective events at the 2019 NCAA Division II National Outdoor Track & Field Championships on Thursday (May 23) in Kingsville, Texas.

Stilwell took ninth place overall in the men's hammer throw at the national championships with a season-best toss of 60.67 meters while Etelamaki clocked 38:16.78 late Thursday night in the 10,000 meters to also place ninth.

The top eight finishers in each event at the D2 National Championships receive All-America recognition with the ninth thru 12th place finishers garnering second-team All-America honors.

This year's national championships were held at Javelin Stadium on the campus to Texas A&M-Kingsville.

FSU's Stilwell was one of 24 throwers slated to take part in the hammer throw and his top performance of 60.06 meters was 19th-best heading into the competition before he climbed to ninth place with his finish. Meanwhile, Etelamaki was among 20 participants competing in the 10,000 meters and held the 17th-best preliminary time entering the national championships before her race.

This year represented Stilwell's third consecutive trip to the D2 National Outdoor Championships while Etelamaki was competing for the first time. Student-athletes qualified for the championships by reaching the automatic and provisional standards established for each event.

This outdoor season, Etelamaki claimed the GLIAC Championship in the 10,000 meters by reaching the national provisional qualifying time in action on May 2 in Allendale. Stilwell finished fifth in a highly-competitive throwing field in the hammer at the GLIAC Outdoor Championships where he also topped the national qualifying mark.

Previously, Stilwell earned All-America honors for the second time in his collegiate career at the 2019 NCAA Division II National Indoor Championships in Pittsburg, Kan. Stilwell, who was one of 18 throwers in the men's weight throw, placed eighth overall in the event at the Robert W. Plaster Center. He tossed a season-best throw of 20.25 meters (66-5 1/4") to garner All-America accolades and become the first FSU male thrower to earn indoor All-America recognition since former national champion Paul Cochran in the shot put in 1990. Additionally, Stilwell is the first-ever Bulldog male to earn All-America honors in the men's weight throw.

This season, Stilwell led the Bulldogs with a fifth-place finish in the weight throw (63-6.25) at the 2019 GLIAC Indoor Championships. Stilwell was an All-GLIAC honoree in both men's indoor and outdoor track and a GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team selection as a junior last season.

Etelamaki took fourth place in the 5,000 meters (17:33.88) and was sixth in the 3,000 meters (10:08.12) at the 2019 GLIAC Indoor Track and Field Championships this year. Etelamaki also was a provisional qualifier for the D2 National Indoor Championships and is a three-time GLIAC All-Academic Excellence Team honoree.

A biology major with a perfect grade point average, Etelamaki is a two-time All-GLIAC Cross Country recipient and earned Division II Cross Country All-America accolades for the first time in her collegiate career by placing 16th overall as an individual qualifier for the 2018 National Championships last fall. She finished the fall cross country season with eight top-20 meet finishes in eight races and has ranked among the region's top distance standouts both in cross country and track throughout her career. Etelamaki is a six-time All-GLIAC Track and Field honoree and has been both an all-conference and all-region choice.

Both Stilwell and Etelamaki were both recognized as GLIAC Commissioner's Award recipients following the indoor season earlier this year.