Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
MAC Outdoor Championship
Eagles Miss MAC Championship Sweep by One Point, Finish Second
5/14/2011 7:13:20 PM | Women's Track & Field
EMU puts together hellish comeback but fall just short
DEKALB, Ill. (EMUEagles.com) - By the narrowest of margins, the Eastern Michigan Unviersity women's track and field team missed out on a 2010-11 sweep of the Mid-American Conference track and field championships, falling just one point short of the title after an awe-inspiring come-from-behind effort in DeKalb, Ill. Saturday, May 14., as Kent State edged out Eastern, 117.5 to 116.5, to win the MAC Championships.
After winning the indoor track and field title in February, the women looked primed to repeat, despite going into the day having scored just 10 points and in seventh place out of the 10 teams. The Eagles fought all the way to the end, having the championship decided in the 4x400-meter relay: the final event of the competition.
With Eastern Michigan trailing the leading Kent State University Golden Flashes by a score of 109.5 to 106.5, EMU needed to win the event and have Kent State finish third or worse. Eastern did what it needed to do, winning the 4x400-meter relay with a time of 3:44.94, however, Kent State would cross the line just behind them and only .27 seconds ahead of third-palce finisher Buffalo, with a time of 3:45.43, securing second place and the overall win.
The Eagles put themselves in a position to win the meet by stringing together a day of outstanding performances. Co-Captain Rosie White and transfer graduate student Tiffani Long each scored for Eastern in the opening event of the day, the long jump. White would take five points for her fourth-place jump and Long earned three points for placing sixth.
Freshman triple jumper Shnell Wishart took MAC silver with a second-place finish, just as she did during the indoor campaign, with a jump of 39-09.25.
EMU racked up a huge 19 points from three sprinters in the 400-meter dash. Shantavia Williams set a new stadium record in winning the event with a time of 54.70, while her teammates Deja Shearer and Asia Rawls finished in fourth and fifth-place, respectively. Rawls proved to be even more helpful to the Eagles' cause as she won the 400-meter hurdles with a time of 1:00.38, setting a new stadium record in the process. Williams also placed fourth in the 200-meter dash.
Ashlee Abraham had perhaps the most outstanding performance on the day as the sophomore sprinter broke the MAC Outdoor Championship record, and recorded the 28th-fastest time in the nation this year in running a time of 11.39 in winning the 100-meter dash. It also ranks as the best time in the event by a MAC athlete in more than 10 years and is among the best times in EMU history. She also placed seventh in the 200-meter dash.
Lauren Quaintance was instumental in Eastern's second-place finish as well as the senior co-captain placed third in the 800-meter run. Beverly Elcock also ran in the 800, finishing eighth, just as she did in the 1,500-meter run earlier in the day. Courtney Calka contributed valuable points with a fourth-place finish in the 3,000-meter steeplechase and a fifth-place finish in the 5,000-meter run.
The 4x100-meter relay squad made a spalsh by finishing second, while other point scorers included Kate Wolanin in the high jump (fifth-place) and Morgan Churchwell in the 1,500-meter run (sixth-place).
Additionally, the Eagles also landed five athletes on the All-MAC squad, as four were on the first-team and one was a second-team add. Jessica Hemingway got the nod for her efforts in the pole vault, Williams earned the bid in the 400-meter dash, Abraham was added for her win in the 100-meter dash and Rawls' 400-meter hurdles effort awarded her the honor of first-team All-MAC. Wishart was the lone second-team honoree with her impressive triple jump display.
Finishes
1) Kent State University 117.50
2) Eastern Michigan University 116.50
3) Miami University 107
4) Western Michigan University 92
5) University at Buffalo 78
6) University of Toledo 55
6) University of Akron 55
8) Northern Illinois University 47
9) Ohio University 46
10) Central Michigan University 38
11) Bowling Green State University 36
12) Ball State University 25
Women's First Team All-MAC
Shant'e White, Buffalo - Hammer
Jessica Hemingway, Eastern Michigan – Pole Vault
Shantavia Williams, Eastern Michigan – 400 Meters
Ashlee Abraham, Eastern Michigan – 100 Meters
Asia Rawls, Eastern Michigan – 400 Meter Hurdles
Victoria Paterra, Miami - Javelin
Rachel Patterson, Miami – 10,000 Meters
Diana Dumitrescu, Kent State - Heptathlon
Cassie Schenck, Akron – 3,000 Meter Steeplechase
Iris Campbell, Western Michigan – Long Jump, 200 Meters
Rachel Whitley, Western Michigan – 1,500 meters, 800 Meters
Becky O'Brien, Buffalo – Discus, Shot Put
Layne Baggett, Miami – 100 Meter Hurdles
Hope Alexander, Miami – Triple Jump
Rebecca Lomax, Ball State – High Jump
Annie Beecham, Ohio – 5,000 Meters
Women's Second Team All-MAC
Melissa Kurzdorfer, Kent State - Hammer
Kim Preston, Kent State – Pole Vault
Sara Oczypok, Kent State - Javelin
Thekla Lorenz, Ball State - Heptathlon
Emma Kertesz, Toledo – 3,000 Meter Steeplechase
Brittany Cheese, Akron – Long Jump
Katie Lenahan, Miami – 1,500 Meters
Alexandra Roberts, Miami – Shot Put
Roneisha Frye, Northern Illinois - 100 Meter Hurdles
Diona Graves, Miami – 100 Meters
Shnell Wishart, Eastern Michigan – Triple Jump
Asia Henry, Buffalo – 800 Meters
Andreea Patrasc, Kent State – 400 Meter Hurdles
Rasheta Butler, Northern Illinois – 200 Meters
Tatijana Jacobson, Bowling Green – High Jump
Valerie Wert, Akron - Discus
Most Outstanding Track Performer
Rachel Whitley, Western Michigan
Most Outstanding Field Performer
Becky O'Brien, Buffalo
Coach of the Year
Bill Lawson, Kent State
