BRIDGEPORT, W.Va. -  The Mountain East Conference announced Monday the winner of this week’s Men’s & Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Athletes of the Week. The weekly awards are presented by The Health Plan.
 
Concord’s Braden Ward has been named the MEC Men’s Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week while Glenville State’s Natalie Barr has been named the MEC Women’s Outdoor Track & Field Athlete of the Week.
 
Ward, a junior from Princeton, West Virginia, finished fourth in the 10,000-meter run at the 49er Classic with a time of 31:23.92. Ward established the top time in the MEC in the event this season. For Ward, it was seven seconds off his personal-record time in the event. 
 
Barr, a junior from Canvas, West Virginia, won the 10k race at the 49er Classic, setting the school record and defeating six Division I runners with a time of 36:06.82. She also beat four Mountain East Conference opponents in her first-ever 10k.
 
2026 MEC Men’s OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
3/23: Braden Ward, Concord
 
2026 MEC Women’s OUTDOOR TRACK & FIELD ATHLETE OF THE WEEK
3/23: Natalie Barr, Glenville State