Western Illinois track and field athlete junior Amy Byers (Ferris, Ill./Illini West) has been named the Papa John's Scholar-Athlete of the Week for her accomplishments on the track and in the classroom.

This past Friday (Dec. 10), Byers and the Fighting Leathernecks competed at the Holiday Preview in Ames, Iowa hosted by Iowa State. The junior won the women's 800-meter race with a mark of 2:17.65 and helped the women's 4 x 400 meter relay team (Byers, Klier, Brockman and freshman Breanna Moore) place second with a time of 3:58.67.

Byers has been a All-League selection three times in her career (two Indoor, one Outdoor) and holds the Western Illinois record in the outdoor 400-meter hurdles (1:01.03) at the Oregon Classic (May 8-9, 2009).

In the classroom, Byers boasts a 4.0 cumulative grade point average as a double major in Mathematics and Pre-Business Accounting. The junior also earned 2010 Summit League Distinguished Scholar honors and has been named to three consecutive Academic All-League teams.