Stephanie Negrete was the last Western Michigan track and field athlete to score in the discus throw, taking seventh place at the 2015 Outdoor Mid-American Conference Championships. The highest finish in recent times came nearly a decade ago in 2012, when Andrea Hiler took second place and earned Second Team All-MAC honors. The Broncos have not had a MAC title in the discus since Donna Wright back in 1985.
 
Senior thrower Aniya Davis is looking to change that this weekend down at Miami (Ohio). Davis enters the MAC Championships ranked second in the event, after breaking Hiler's program record last weekend up at Grand Valley State. The Grand Rapids, Mich., native reached a personal-best mark of 180' 2" (54.91m) and won the event, her fourth win in the discus this season.
 
"I've been writing in my notes 'this is the record, 53.9 meters, I need to throw 54,'" said Davis on her quest for the program's top mark. "Right when I threw that, I'm like 'yeah!' So then he said 54 and I had been waiting and waiting and I was so happy about that because I needed to leave my mark. I had to."
 
Davis had already left a big mark on the program back in February at the Indoor MAC Championships. She and fellow thrower and classmate Taylor Eaton became the first Broncos to score in the weight throw since 2013. Davis took fourth and Eaton placed seventh. The points scored by the duo were a big boost that propelled Davis to her success during the outdoor season.
 
"That felt great to score at the MAC because her and I were talking about it the whole indoor season and hitting 18 (meters)," explained Davis. "I feel like that helped me gain the confidence to lead into outdoor and just know that I actually am capable of scoring and capable of getting to the podium."
 
Confidence is just one key to her impressive growth on the season.
 
"She already had the talent," said head coach Makiba Batten. "Aniya's work ethic and competency of her events has greatly improved. Even though she's not much of a talker, her communication has improved as well, which accompanies her technical skill."
 
"When Aniya is tapping into the kinesthetic of her technique, she throws a lot better because she can feel the throw," Batten explained. "Additionally, she is having positive self-talk and creating goals and challenges in her head. I remember watching her record-breaking throw and her face showing this inner confidence."
 
The school record was one of those goals that Davis had set, but she held that one close to the vest.
 
"She told me that she kept it inside like a secret until she could make it happen," said Batten. "A testament to her character."
 
Batten, who is in her second year at the helm of the WMU program, had the tough task of navigating the COVID-19 pandemic that resulted in last year's outdoor season being canceled. It was a loss of development time and reps for everyone athletics, but Davis credited Batten and, of course, her mom with helping her stay on track and motivated.
"I always talked to my mom about things so I feel like she plays a big part in me staying motivated, staying confident and pushing through to the next level," Davis said. "Coach Batten, when she came in as a coach, she helped us stay motivated and stay conditioned. We got better power to build up into our throws and I feel she helped us get where we are now."
 
"Us" is Davis, Eaton and junior Madison Ochs. The only three throwers on the squad. It's a tight-knit group and they have come to enjoy it.
 
"I feel like we push each other more as a group of three and we have big potential to score at the MAC Championship this weekend," Davis said.
 
"They are a great group of young women to work with and develop," Batten added. "They feed off of each other and genuinely want the best for each other. What more could a coach want in a training group? Each of them work as hard as their bodies will let them and when it gets harder they lift each other up on and off the track. They are enjoying getting better together and creating great memories for our program."
 
Davis and Eaton will tackle the hammer thrown on Friday at 10:30 a.m., while all three throwers will compete in the discus on Saturday at 4 p.m. and Ochs competing in the shot put earlier in the day.
 
The 2021 Outdoor MAC Championships opens on Friday morning at Miami's George L. Rider Track Complex. The events will be streamed live at www.chatterboxsports.com. Live results can be tracked at www.finishtiming.com.