Eastern Michigan Athletics
Friday, February 27
Kent State
TBD
Eastern Michigan University
at
Mid American Conference
Eagles Win DMR and Long Jump on Day One of MAC Championship
2/27/2009 10:51:47 PM | Men's Track & Field
Eagles sit tied for third following day one
Day One Results
KENT, Ohio—The Eastern Michigan University men's track and field team wrapped up day one of the 2009 Mid-American Conference Indoor Championship Friday evening, Feb. 27. The Eagles sit tied with Central Michigan University for third with 29 points. Kent State University leads with 46 points, followed by Akron. Buffalo sits in fifth with 18 points.
KENT, Ohio—The Eastern Michigan University men's track and field team wrapped up day one of the 2009 Mid-American Conference Indoor Championship Friday evening, Feb. 27. The Eagles sit tied with Central Michigan University for third with 29 points. Kent State University leads with 46 points, followed by Akron. Buffalo sits in fifth with 18 points.
EMU turned in two top performances on day one, including first-place finishes distance medley relay and the long jump.
The relay team of Curtis Vollmar (Grand Blanc, Mich.-Grand Blanc), Darrin Trammell (Detroit, Mich.- Mackenzie), Blake Figgins (Detroit, Mich.-Mumford) and David Brent (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary's Catholic) set a Mid-American Conference record in the DMR, running 9:48.05 on their way to a first-place finish, edging out Kent State by 0.65 seconds. The previous record had been held by the 1998 EMU relay team.
Junior Oliver Walther (Erfurt, Germany- Pierre-de-Coubertin Gymnasium) was in third place heading into his final attempt in the long jump, but he hit a career-best mark of 23-10.75 to win by three-quarters of an inch. Walther becomes EMU's second MAC long jump champion since Victor Nembhard won the title in 1999.
Other Eagles competing in final events on Friday include Josh Karanja (Ottawa, Canada-Nepean) , Josh Perrin (Hillsdale, Mich.-Hillsdale) and Kyle Mena (Portage, Mich.-Portage), as they finished third, fifth and seventh, respectively, in the 5,000-meter run. Gerald Gersham (Southfield, Mich.-Southfield) and Andrew Meyer (Minster, Ohio-Minster) just finished out of scoring range in the weight throw, finishing seventh and eighth, respectively. Derek Reeves (Canton, Mich.-Canton), too, just missed scoring, placing seventh in the pole vault.
For most of day one, it was about running in preliminary events to get to Saturday's finals. The Eagles sit in good position in several events. Clint Allen (Muskegon, Mich.-Orchard View) ran the fastest time in the prelim of the 60-dash to earn a spot in the final. In the 200, he ran the fifth fastest prelim time, while teammates Koleon Prescott (Oakland, Calif. –Merrit College) and Ackeem Forde (Haynesville, Barbados - Cambridge & Parry) sit in eighth and ninth place, respectively, heading into tomorrow's final.
The Eagles ran two of the fastest top nine spots in the 400-meter dash, with Nate Blackwell (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Central) and Kyle Fortin (Fairview, Mich. – Fairview-Central Michigan University) sitting in third and fourth, respectively. In the 800, Figgins, Brent and Blackwell go into tomorrow's final seeded first, second and fourth, respectively. In the 60-meter hurdles, Tymell Dodd (Lansing, Mich.-Sexton) sits in second while Kevin Lanier will be seeded sixth. Lanier is also ranked second in the heptathlon after four events, and will finish the remaining three events on Saturday.
Besides the events listed above, the Eagles will participate in several other events that did not run preliminary heats, including the mile, 3,000 meters and 4x400-meter relay. Additionally, EMU will participate in the high jump, triple jump and shot put in the field events area.
Events will resume at 10:45 a.m. with the final three events of the men's heptathlon at the Kent State Field House. The Eagles will be searching for their 13th MAC Championship.
The relay team of Curtis Vollmar (Grand Blanc, Mich.-Grand Blanc), Darrin Trammell (Detroit, Mich.- Mackenzie), Blake Figgins (Detroit, Mich.-Mumford) and David Brent (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary's Catholic) set a Mid-American Conference record in the DMR, running 9:48.05 on their way to a first-place finish, edging out Kent State by 0.65 seconds. The previous record had been held by the 1998 EMU relay team.
Junior Oliver Walther (Erfurt, Germany- Pierre-de-Coubertin Gymnasium) was in third place heading into his final attempt in the long jump, but he hit a career-best mark of 23-10.75 to win by three-quarters of an inch. Walther becomes EMU's second MAC long jump champion since Victor Nembhard won the title in 1999.
Other Eagles competing in final events on Friday include Josh Karanja (Ottawa, Canada-Nepean) , Josh Perrin (Hillsdale, Mich.-Hillsdale) and Kyle Mena (Portage, Mich.-Portage), as they finished third, fifth and seventh, respectively, in the 5,000-meter run. Gerald Gersham (Southfield, Mich.-Southfield) and Andrew Meyer (Minster, Ohio-Minster) just finished out of scoring range in the weight throw, finishing seventh and eighth, respectively. Derek Reeves (Canton, Mich.-Canton), too, just missed scoring, placing seventh in the pole vault.
For most of day one, it was about running in preliminary events to get to Saturday's finals. The Eagles sit in good position in several events. Clint Allen (Muskegon, Mich.-Orchard View) ran the fastest time in the prelim of the 60-dash to earn a spot in the final. In the 200, he ran the fifth fastest prelim time, while teammates Koleon Prescott (Oakland, Calif. –Merrit College) and Ackeem Forde (Haynesville, Barbados - Cambridge & Parry) sit in eighth and ninth place, respectively, heading into tomorrow's final.
The Eagles ran two of the fastest top nine spots in the 400-meter dash, with Nate Blackwell (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Central) and Kyle Fortin (Fairview, Mich. – Fairview-Central Michigan University) sitting in third and fourth, respectively. In the 800, Figgins, Brent and Blackwell go into tomorrow's final seeded first, second and fourth, respectively. In the 60-meter hurdles, Tymell Dodd (Lansing, Mich.-Sexton) sits in second while Kevin Lanier will be seeded sixth. Lanier is also ranked second in the heptathlon after four events, and will finish the remaining three events on Saturday.
Besides the events listed above, the Eagles will participate in several other events that did not run preliminary heats, including the mile, 3,000 meters and 4x400-meter relay. Additionally, EMU will participate in the high jump, triple jump and shot put in the field events area.
Events will resume at 10:45 a.m. with the final three events of the men's heptathlon at the Kent State Field House. The Eagles will be searching for their 13th MAC Championship.
Thank You from EMU Cross Country/Track & Field!
Monday, December 01
Giving Tuesday 2025 - EMU Cross Country/Track & Field
Monday, December 01
Giving Tuesday 2025 - Eastern Michigan Track & Field
Monday, December 01
2025 E-Club Athletic Hall of Fame Ceremony
Saturday, October 11