Eastern Michigan Athletics
Track and Field Set for MAC Championships
2/24/2006 9:33:35 AM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
Eagles travel to Bowling Green for indoor event
Live Results.
Story courtesy of the Mid-American Conference
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -- The Perry Field House, on the campus of Bowling Green State University, will host the 2006 Mid-American Conference Men's and Women Indoor Track and Field Championships. Competition begins this Friday (Feb. 24), and ends Saturday night (Feb. 25).
Friday morning, the competition will begin at 10:30 a.m. with the women's long jump and the men's pole vault. Saturday, the competition will begin with men's field events with a 10:30 a.m. start.
All 12 schools in the MAC that Sponsor Women's Indoor Track and Field will compete in the meet. On the men's side there are only six schools that sponsor Men's Indoor Track and Field. Akron's Women's and Central Michigan's Men will look to repeat with as defending champions.
Preseason favorites, Akron's women's team will be lead by returning All-Americans Beata Rudzinska (Ilawa, Poland/University of Gdansk) and Natalie Sako (Parma, Ohio/Valley Forge). Rudzinska enters this weekend with the third best time (02:10.10* min.) in the 800m, while teammate Jennie Castle (Barnesville, Ohio/Barnesville) leads the way in the 800m with a time of 02:07.03* seconds, which is a NCAA provisional mark . Sako maintains the seed in the high jump (05-11.25 ft.) in the MAC and 11th in the country according to TrackShark.com; this was also an NCAA provisional mark.
Ball State was picked to finish fourth in this year's preseason poll. The Cardinal's Jill Scully (Valparaiso, Ind./Valparaiso) seeded first in the 3000m (09:31.43*sec.) and the 5000m (16:31.26*sec.) in the MAC rankings this season. Amber Williams has the second best time in the 60m hurdles (00:08.26 sec.), while teammate Terri Abraham's has the best time in the long jump at 20-04.50. Ball State with three team titles won has the most championships in MAC History since indoor track and field has been a sponsored sport (1996).
Meet host, Bowling Green led by Jessica White (Youngstown, OH/Liberty) and Jamie Roflow (Cincinnati, OH/McNicholas). White is ranked third in the MAC standing in the 60m with a school-record time of 7.53 seconds. Roflow is ranked fourth in the 3000m with a time of 9:45.15 and third in the 5000m with 16:57.05.
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Buffalo selected to finish tenth in this year's preseason poll will be led by Fatimah Hill (Waterport,NY/Lydonville) and distance runner Jen Jezorski (Elmira, NY/Almira Southside). Hill finished first Akron Open last Friday in the triple jump. Hill's score of 18-5.75 was a personal best and a Buffalo top distance of the season. Jezorski has the best time in the MAC in the mile run (04:50.20*). Buffalo also leads the way in the distance Medley Relay (11:38.35* mins).
Central Michigan's women will be led by Tamera Thomas (Lansing, Mich./ Everett) who was the 2005 MAC Indoor Championships Most Valuable Performer. Thomas is tied for the All-Time record in the 60m hurdles with a time of 8.26, a record which was previously set by her and a NCAA provisional mark. She also has the number one seed in the pentathlon with 3941points. Teammate Kari Taylor (Chelsea, Mich./ Chelsea) set a new school record in the weight throw (60-6 ½ ft.).
Eastern Michigan women's team will be led by Patrice Beasley (Romulus, Mich/Romulus). Beasley has the number one seed in the 60m (00:07.36 sec.) and the 200m (00:23.73 sec.), both times are also NCAA provisional marks.
Kent State women lead the way in the throws. LeVania Henderson (Westland, Mich./Churchill) is ranked number one in the shot out (51-02.75*ft.). Kelly Braden (Norwalk, Ohio/Western Reserve) has the best distance is the weight throw (63-03.50*ft.).
Miami who was tabbed to finished seventh overall in this year's preseason poll. Heading into the conference meet, Miami has set three school records this season, with Lashonda Davis (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) and Sarah Landau (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) combining to reset the 60 meter-dash, long jump and pole vault standards. Davis has reset the Miami long jump record twice this year, first with a leap of 20-1 /4 at the Bowling Green Invitational (Jan. 14) and again with a jump of 20-4 1/4 at the Eastern Illinois Invitational (Jan. 21). Davis then set her second school record of the season in the 60 meters, turning in a time of 7.44 at the All-Ohio Championships (Feb. 11). Landau, meanwhile, has reset the pole vault record at each of the last four meets, moving the school record height 5 1/2 inches from 12-11 1/2 to 13-5. Davis and Landau also are the outdoor record holders in the long jump and pole vault, respectively.
Northern Illinois' head coach Connie Teaberry will be entering in her first championship since taking over the Huskies track program. Her team will be led by Margaret Gorski (Elmwood Park, Ill/Elmwood Park) who led a Huskies sweep of the shot put at the Chicagoland Indoor Track and Field Championships last weekend with a season-best throw of 47'3" to claim the title.
Ohio women's team will look to Carime Reinhart (Bascom, Ohio/Hopewell-Loudon) for leadership. Reinhart was one of two Bobcat women to score points last year at the MAC Indoor Championships.
Toledo will be lead by April Williams (Elizabeth, NJ/Elizabeth), Ebba Stenback (Norrkoping, Sweden/Kungsgards) and Stenback (Bielsho-Biala, Poland/Bielsho-Biala). Williams has already qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships and is ranked first in the MAC in the triple jump (41-10.00 ft.). Stenback is ranked No. 2 in the MAC in the 3,000 meters with a time of 9:40.32., while Handzlik is ranked No. 5 in the 3,000 with a time of 9:50.41 and No. 6 in the 5,000 with a time of 17:27.00.
Western Michigan's Becky Horn (Battle Creek, Mich./Central) has the best time in the 400m (00:54.38 sec.) in the MAC. The Broncos 4x400 relay (03:38.61 mins) team also has the best time in the MAC and ranked 21st in the country according to TrackShark.com.
On the men's side, Akron was predicted to finish fourth overall. The Zips will be led by Howard Harris (Cleveland, Ohio/Walsh Jesuit), Cadeau Kelley (Cleveland, Ohio/John Marshall HS), John Russell (Glendale, Ohio/Princeton), and Tomasz Smialek (Tomaszow Mazowiecki, Poland/Pierwsze Liceum). Russell a three-time All-American automatically qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships this season with a clearance of 18-01 in the pole vault. Russell also ranks third in the country according to TrackShark.com. Smialek who is a three time MAC indoor champion in the high jump has a NCAA automatic qualifying clearance of 7-03.75 feet that he earned early this season.
Buffalo's men will be led by distance runner Dan McKenna (Liverpool, NY/Liverpool) and Rayshon Higgins (Buffalo, NY Timon/St. Jude). McKenna set a new school record at the Akron Open in the 3000m. His time of 8:29.65 seconds was three seconds faster than the pervious record set. Higgins leads the way in the tipple jump (49-05.75 ft.).
Men's preseason favorite, Central Michigan will be lead by, Pierre Vinson (Detroit, Mich/ Cass Tech), Dave Stallworth, (Jackson, Mich/Jackson), Nick Stout (Lake Orion, Mich./Lake Orion), Abraham Mach (East Lansing, Mich./East Lansing) and Steve Wezner (Sterling Heights, Mich./Sterling Heights) for this year's championships. Vinson currently has the number one seed in the 60m (00:06.67* sec.) and the second in the 200m (00:21.44 sec.). Wezner has is ranked first in the 400m (00:46.97* sec.), while Stout has the number one seed in the 60m hurdles. Mach is ranked first in the 800m with a time of 01:49.75* seconds and Stallworth leads the way in the 35-weight throw with a distance of 68-09.75 ft.
Eastern Michigan men will be lead by Roy Shavers (Flint, Mich./Central), Josh Karanja (Ottawa, Canada/Nepean), Corey Nowitzke (Monroe, Mich./Monroe), and Dave Adamek (Ridgeway, Ontario/Ridgeway Crystal Beach). Shavers has the number one seed in the 200m with a time of 00:21.44 seconds, while Karanja leads the way in the 3000m (08:10.29) and 5000m (14:17.37). Distance runner Nowitzke is ranked number one in the mile run (04:08.97 mins). 4x400 03:14.08, EMU also has this best time in the Distance Medley (07:97.00mins). Field athlete put Adamek has the best distance in the shot put (60-08.75ft.).
Kent State men's team was selected to finish second in this year's preseason poll. The Golden Flashes have a solid showing in the throws, Andy Nicholas (Sylvania, Ohio/Sylvania North) in the weight throw (66-01.00* ft.) and Brent Shelby (Westlake, Ohio/Westlake) in the shout put (60-08.75 ft.) both are ranked second in the MAC, respectively. Chris Caine (Munroe Falls, Ohio/University of Toledo) leads all scores in the Heptathlon with 5232* points.
Ohio's Scott Mayle will be look to for leadership. Mayle has best leap in the MAC in the long jump (24-11.75 ft.).
