Eastern Michigan Athletics
Thursday, May 14
Akron, OH
TBD
Eastern Michigan University
at
MAC Championships
Men's Track Preps for MAC Championship
5/12/2009 12:22:38 PM | Men's Track & Field
Eagles look to avenge one-point loss in 2008
YPSILANTI, Mich.—The Eastern Michigan University men's track and field team will travel to Akron, Ohio, May 14-16, for the Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championship. The Eagles will be looking to avenge the one-point loss to the University of Akron last season. Thursday's events will kick off at 1:15 p.m. with the start of the decathlon, while Friday and Saturday's events will begin at 10 a.m. and noon, respectively.
The Eagles, who have won 20 MAC outdoor titles since joining the conference in 1972, are in a prime spot but Kent State University and Akron have proven to be tough competition over the last year. The Eagles finished second to Kent State indoors earlier this year and Akron outdoors in 2008.
Leading the way for the Eagles is a group of talented seniors that hope to leave their mark in their final MAC Championships. Senior David Brent (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary's Catholic) is on the path to having a successful meet. He has qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships in three different events, including the 800 and 1,500-meter runs and the steeplechase. His times of 1:49.84 in the 800 and 8:48.08 in the steeplechase lead the conference this season.
Josh Karanja (Ottawa, Canada-Nepean) has hit an NCAA mark in three events, the 1,500 and 5,000-meter runs and steeplechase. His time of 14:11.05 leads the conference in the 5,000. He has also recorded the second-fastest time in the steeple, fourth-lowest in the 10,000-meter run and fifth-best in the 1,500.
Juniors Koleon Prescott (Oakland, Calif.-Merrit College), Clint Allen (Muskegon, Mich.-Orchard View), Ackeem Forde (Haynesville, Barbados-Cambridge & Parry) and Nate Blackwell (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Central) lead a seasoned sprint crew, as both Allen and Blackwell return to defend their 2008 titles. Allen won the 100-meter dash while Blackwell took home the title in the 400-meter dash at last year's meet.
In the shorter sprints Prescott leads the way, having run 10.72 seconds in the 100-meter dash earlier this season. This time enters as the sixth-fastest in the conference thus far. Allen is right behind him though, having run 10.73 seconds with the seventh-best time in the league this season. In the 200-meter dash, Prescott enters as the fifth-fastest time, with 21.66 seconds, while Forde ran 21.75 seconds this season and is the seventh-best time.
Both Blackwell and Forde are poised for a solid showing in the 400-meter dash, as Forde ran 47.77 at the EMU Twilight, and his time has only been bested by one other MAC athlete this season. Blackwell enters with the fifth-fastest effort, 48.08 seconds.
The hurdle crew of Kevin Lanier (White Lake, Mich.-Lakeland), Tymell Dodd (Lansing, Mich.-Sexton) and Daniel Collins (Cleveland, Ohio-Rhodes) looks to make an impact as Lanier enters with the second-best time of 53.00 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles and the third-best mark of 14.52 in the 110-meter hurdles. Dodd has the fifth-best and eighth-best times in the 110 and 400 hurdles, respectively.
Joining Brent and Karanja in the middle and long distance group will be seniors Josh Perrin (Hillsdale, Mich.-Hillsdale), Neal Naughton (Walled Lake, Mich.-Western), Kyle Mena (Portage, Mich.-Portage), Luke Chruscial (Grandville, Mich.-Grandville) and juniors Blake Figgins (Detroit, Mich.-Mumford-Missouri) and Curtis Vollmar (Grand Blanc, Mich.-Grand Blanc).
Perrin enters the meet as the defending MAC Champion in the 10,000-meters. Naughton has hit an NCAA Regional mark in the 1,500-meters, running 3:46.58 to hold the fourth-fastest time in the conference this season.
In the field events, a small group of Eagles will be looking to make a huge impact on the team results. Xavier Clais (Paris, France) and Darrin Trammell (Detroit, Mich.-Mackenzie) both look to have as much success in the high jump at the outdoor championships as they did at the indoor meet, having both cleared collegiate-best marks of 7-00.25. Clais has cleared 6-10.75, an NCAA Regional qualifying mark and enters with the second-best mark.
In the horizontal jumps, Oliver Walther (Erfurt, Germany-Pierre-de-Coubertin Gymnasiun) will lead the way and is hoping to sweep the long jump titles after having won the event at the indoor championships. He has hit a mark of 23-02.50 so far during the outdoor season and enters with the seventh-best mark in the long jump and fifth-best in the triple jump. Clais and Danny Ngo (Chelsea, Mich.-Chelsea) will look to add depth in these two events.
In the throws, the trio of Gerald Gersham (Southfield, Mich.-Southfield-Lane College), Andrew Meyer (Minster, Ohio-Minster) and Jarid Pearson (Walled Lake, Mich.-Western) will look to add some points to the team total. Gersham threw 56-00.00 in the shot put at the EMU Twilight, a mark that still stands as the leagues best. Meyer will enter as the teams' best hammer thrower, having tossed 165-10 this past weekend, May 8-9, at the Len Paddock Invitational. Gersham sits right behind Meyer with a toss of 161-11. In the javelin, sophomore Vinnie Tyle (Fowlerville, Mich.-Fowlerville) looks to add meters to his personal-best toss of 171-04 at Len Paddock and place in the top-eight for the Eagles.
In 36 years of MAC competition, the Eagles have claimed 20 outdoor titles, the most by any school during that time span. EMU's first title came in 1974 and its most recent was in 2007. They have also had an outstanding number of individuals and relay titles win MAC titles, with 190.
The Eagles, who have won 20 MAC outdoor titles since joining the conference in 1972, are in a prime spot but Kent State University and Akron have proven to be tough competition over the last year. The Eagles finished second to Kent State indoors earlier this year and Akron outdoors in 2008.
Leading the way for the Eagles is a group of talented seniors that hope to leave their mark in their final MAC Championships. Senior David Brent (Monroe, Mich.-St. Mary's Catholic) is on the path to having a successful meet. He has qualified for the NCAA Regional Championships in three different events, including the 800 and 1,500-meter runs and the steeplechase. His times of 1:49.84 in the 800 and 8:48.08 in the steeplechase lead the conference this season.
Josh Karanja (Ottawa, Canada-Nepean) has hit an NCAA mark in three events, the 1,500 and 5,000-meter runs and steeplechase. His time of 14:11.05 leads the conference in the 5,000. He has also recorded the second-fastest time in the steeple, fourth-lowest in the 10,000-meter run and fifth-best in the 1,500.
Juniors Koleon Prescott (Oakland, Calif.-Merrit College), Clint Allen (Muskegon, Mich.-Orchard View), Ackeem Forde (Haynesville, Barbados-Cambridge & Parry) and Nate Blackwell (Kalamazoo, Mich.-Central) lead a seasoned sprint crew, as both Allen and Blackwell return to defend their 2008 titles. Allen won the 100-meter dash while Blackwell took home the title in the 400-meter dash at last year's meet.
In the shorter sprints Prescott leads the way, having run 10.72 seconds in the 100-meter dash earlier this season. This time enters as the sixth-fastest in the conference thus far. Allen is right behind him though, having run 10.73 seconds with the seventh-best time in the league this season. In the 200-meter dash, Prescott enters as the fifth-fastest time, with 21.66 seconds, while Forde ran 21.75 seconds this season and is the seventh-best time.
Both Blackwell and Forde are poised for a solid showing in the 400-meter dash, as Forde ran 47.77 at the EMU Twilight, and his time has only been bested by one other MAC athlete this season. Blackwell enters with the fifth-fastest effort, 48.08 seconds.
The hurdle crew of Kevin Lanier (White Lake, Mich.-Lakeland), Tymell Dodd (Lansing, Mich.-Sexton) and Daniel Collins (Cleveland, Ohio-Rhodes) looks to make an impact as Lanier enters with the second-best time of 53.00 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles and the third-best mark of 14.52 in the 110-meter hurdles. Dodd has the fifth-best and eighth-best times in the 110 and 400 hurdles, respectively.
Joining Brent and Karanja in the middle and long distance group will be seniors Josh Perrin (Hillsdale, Mich.-Hillsdale), Neal Naughton (Walled Lake, Mich.-Western), Kyle Mena (Portage, Mich.-Portage), Luke Chruscial (Grandville, Mich.-Grandville) and juniors Blake Figgins (Detroit, Mich.-Mumford-Missouri) and Curtis Vollmar (Grand Blanc, Mich.-Grand Blanc).
Perrin enters the meet as the defending MAC Champion in the 10,000-meters. Naughton has hit an NCAA Regional mark in the 1,500-meters, running 3:46.58 to hold the fourth-fastest time in the conference this season.
In the field events, a small group of Eagles will be looking to make a huge impact on the team results. Xavier Clais (Paris, France) and Darrin Trammell (Detroit, Mich.-Mackenzie) both look to have as much success in the high jump at the outdoor championships as they did at the indoor meet, having both cleared collegiate-best marks of 7-00.25. Clais has cleared 6-10.75, an NCAA Regional qualifying mark and enters with the second-best mark.
In the horizontal jumps, Oliver Walther (Erfurt, Germany-Pierre-de-Coubertin Gymnasiun) will lead the way and is hoping to sweep the long jump titles after having won the event at the indoor championships. He has hit a mark of 23-02.50 so far during the outdoor season and enters with the seventh-best mark in the long jump and fifth-best in the triple jump. Clais and Danny Ngo (Chelsea, Mich.-Chelsea) will look to add depth in these two events.
In the throws, the trio of Gerald Gersham (Southfield, Mich.-Southfield-Lane College), Andrew Meyer (Minster, Ohio-Minster) and Jarid Pearson (Walled Lake, Mich.-Western) will look to add some points to the team total. Gersham threw 56-00.00 in the shot put at the EMU Twilight, a mark that still stands as the leagues best. Meyer will enter as the teams' best hammer thrower, having tossed 165-10 this past weekend, May 8-9, at the Len Paddock Invitational. Gersham sits right behind Meyer with a toss of 161-11. In the javelin, sophomore Vinnie Tyle (Fowlerville, Mich.-Fowlerville) looks to add meters to his personal-best toss of 171-04 at Len Paddock and place in the top-eight for the Eagles.
In 36 years of MAC competition, the Eagles have claimed 20 outdoor titles, the most by any school during that time span. EMU's first title came in 1974 and its most recent was in 2007. They have also had an outstanding number of individuals and relay titles win MAC titles, with 190.
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