Women’s Track and Field Treks to Akron for MAC Championships

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Championship Central

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's track and field team will travel southeast for the 2013 Mid-American Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships, May 9-11. After hosting the MAC Indoor Championships, Feb. 22-23, the Eagles head to Akron for the outdoor championships.The entire competition will take place at the Lee R. Jackson Track and Field Complex on the campus of the University of Akron. The meet begins at 10 a.m. Thursday, May 9, with the hammer throw trials and finals.

“We are excited about the progress that we have made throughout the outdoor season, and we plan to be at our best this weekend at Akron,” mentioned EMU Head Coach Sue Parks. “We know that we are short handed in some areas, but we are not going to let that stop us from performing to the best of our ability as a team.“

EMU placed fifth in the 2012 Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championships, May 10-12, after scoring 78.33 points in three days of competition. Kent State University took first as it accumulated 134.33 points.

During the indoor season, the Eagles finished runner-up in the conference, tallying 94 points at the championship meet on Bob Parks Track. Vanessa Clerveaux and Alysha Newman won individual conference titles in the 60-meter hurdles and the pole vault, respectively, to earn All-MAC First Team honors. While Newman will have to adjust to the weather conditions for pole vault, Clerveaux will have to race 40 extra meters for the shortest hurdle event outdoors, the 100-meter hurdles.

Eastern has a plethora of athletes that can help improve on the last two conference championship finishes, including two Eagles holding the top marks in the MAC this season. Newman secures the top height in the pole vault at 13-feet 9.25-inches (4.20 meters). The freshman posted that mark at the Sea Ray Relays, April 12. That leap not only took over the second-best spot in EMU outdoor history, but it also tied a Canadian Junior National record.

Victoria Voronko also has the MAC's best time in the 3,000-meter steeplechase at 10:15.74, also an EMU record. Voronko broke her own school record back on April 27 at the Drake Relays. Also during that meet, she broke the 14-year-old EMU top-mark in the 5,000-meter run with a time of 16:22.05. That time ranks second in the MAC this year, just behind Ohio University's Juli Accurso, who ran a 16:21.56 at the Wake Forest Open, March 15.

“We have a number of athletes who are ranked high in their events, and we are confident that they are ready to perform well,” noted Coach Parks. “One of the keys to our success will be for some of our athletes who are just outside scoring position to move up to that top eight.”

The Eagles will look to grab its first conference crown since 2011, when they won the MAC Indoor Championships, Feb. 25-26, in Bowling Green, Ohio. It has been a decade since the Green and White have claimed an outdoor conference championships, winning back in 2003.

EMU Assistant Coach Jerel Langley joins Women's Track and Field Weekly on Eagle All-Access, discussing the team's preparation for the MAC Championships in Akron.

Eastern Michigan Athletics

Women’s Track and Field Treks to Akron for MAC Championships

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