Eagles Claim 23rd MAC Outdoor Championship Title

Complete Results

Photo Gallery

MUNCIE, Ind. (EMUEagles.com)—Eastern Michigan University's men's track and field team capped off an outstanding three days of competition by winning the 23^rd Mid-American Conference outdoor title in program history, holding off MAC indoor champion Akron to take the team victory with 205 points. Akron followed in second place with 188 points, followed by Kent State (143), Buffalo (110.50), Central Michigan (83.50), and Miami (77).

Eastern started off the day strong on the field, as Ryan Brumfield (Chester Springs, Pa.-Owen J. Robert) clinched the runner-up spot in the high jump by matching his personal record of 2.09 meters/6 feet 10.25-inches. Also competing at the same time as the high jump were the discus throwers, paced by Quinn Levering (Caledonia, Ohio-River Valley) with a toss of 44.76 meters/146 feet 10-inches for 12^th while Travis Harris (Walled Lake, Mich.-Walled Lake Central) finished 14^th at 44 meters/144 feet 4-inches.

Not only did Donald Scott (Apopka, Fla.-Apopka) defend his title in the triple jump, but he also broke the MAC meet record with a mark of 16.24 meters/53 feet 3.50-inches. The Eagles were well represented on the podium, as Chris Fischre (East Lansing, Mich.-East Lansing) finished fourth just two centimeters off his best leap at 14.30 meters/46 feet 11-inches, and Brumfield took sixth in a personal-best leap of 13.97 meters/45 feet 10-inches. Rounding out the field athletes were Levi Selvig (Flushing, Mich.-Flushing Community) and Dylan Stites (Huntsville, Ohio-Indian Lake), who tied for ninth in the pole vault with matching clearances of 4.55 meters/14 feet 11-inches.

Success carried over on to the track, as the 4x100m relay team made EMU history by breaking the school record in 39.95 seconds to secure the victory. The lineup of Kevin Snead (Richmond, Va.-George Wythe (Pima CC)), Cameron Bolton (Missouri City, Texas-Hightower), Matthew Williams (Moreno Valley, Calif.-Vista del Lago), and Pedro Delgado (Southfield, Mich.-Brother Rice) became just the second quartet of Eagles to dip below the 40-second barrier, holding off Buffalo by 15 hundredths of a second.

All four members of the 4x100m relay lineup also competed individually in one or more championship finals. Bolton, Snead, and Delgado represented the Green and White in the 100m dash finals, in which Bolton finished third in a personal-best 10.49 seconds and was closely followed by Snead in 10.56 seconds for fourth while Delgado placed ninth in 10.70 seconds. Bolton and Snead also competed in the championship final of the 200m dash, with Bolton taking fourth in 21.17 seconds and Snead finishing eighth in 21.63 seconds, sandwiching a sixth-place finish from Tyler Brown (Findlay, Ohio-Findlay) in 21.52 seconds.

Brown went on to defend his title in the 400m dash, winning by more than three quarters of a second in a season-best 46.19 seconds. Jason Ervin (Farmington Hills, Mich.-Farmington) also scored for the Eagles, taking fifth in 47.82 seconds and Williams took ninth in 47.91 seconds.

In the hurdles, Eastern had a tremendous performance by Bryce Lindsey (New Middletown, Ohio-Fairfield Senior) and Solomon Ijah (Murrieta, Calif.-Murrieta Valley) competing in the 110m high hurdles. Lindsey reprised his bronze medal finish from a year ago in 14.28 seconds, and Ijah clinched fourth in 14.43 seconds. Placing ninth in the 400m hurdles was Mark Cooke (Edison, N.J.-John P. Stevens) in 55 seconds flat.

In the middle-distance races, Scott Bradley (Battle Creek, Mich.-Lakeview) repeated his performance from a year ago as he finished runner-up in the 800m run, overtaking the field in the final 100 meters to clock in at 1:51.03. Not far behind Bradley was Mason Waynes (Kenosha, Wis.-Bradford) in a personal-best 1:51.56 for fifth, and Stephen Sparks (Lancaster, Ohio-Lancaster) swept in for ninth in 1:53.15. The 1500m run saw Nick Raymond (Erie, Mich.-Mason) finish fourth in a career mark of 3:48.70, while Hlynur Andresson (Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland-Mountain Ridge (Alderson Broaddus)) also set a personal record of 3:50.34 to take sixth and Mitch Lenneman (River Falls, Wis.-River Falls) placed 10^th in 3:55.91.

Going into the final individual event of the meet, the Eagles trailed Akron by six points. With an outstanding team effort in the 5000m, Eastern was able to jump the Zips and take a nine-point lead thanks to Willy Fink (Maumee, Ohio-Maumee), Warren Witchell (Williamston, Mich.-Dansville), and Andresson. All three kept pace in the lead pack before Fink and Witchell separated along with Miami's Joe Stewart and Akron's Kyle Cochrun. Stewart pulled ahead of the group, followed by Fink, while Witchell and Cochrun battled it out for third place. In the final 600 meters, Fink took the lead and cruised in for the victory in 14:13.91, while Witchell blazed past Cochrun for third in 14:26.28 and Andresson had a last-lap surge past Kent State's Matt Kahl to secure fifth in 14:46.39.

With a nine-point lead going into the 4x400m relay, the Eagles just needed to run a solid race to clinch the team title, and the lineup of Williams, Bolton, Ervin and Brown did just that. The Chippewas of Central Michigan came away with the victory in the 4x400m, followed by the Eagles in 3:11.48. With that, Eastern went on to win the 2015 MAC Outdoor Championships with 205 points.

Along with the team victory, Head Coach John Goodridge was named the MAC Coach of the Year and Fink was named the Most Valuable Performer after winning the 3000m steeplechase and 5000m as well as placing runner-up in the 10,000m. Additionally, Brown, Bolton, Delgado, Fink, Ijah, Scott, Snead, and Williams were named to the All-MAC First Team while Bradley, Brumfield, Ervin, and Selvig earned All-MAC Second Team honors.

The season has not yet come to an end for the Green and White, as the team will send its regional qualifiers to the NCAA East Regional in Jacksonville, Fla., May 28-30.

Final Team Standings
1. Eastern Michigan, 205
2. Akron, 188
3. Kent State, 143
4. Buffalo, 110.50
5. Central Michigan, 83.50
6. Miami, 77

Most Valuable Performer: Willy Fink, EMU
Most Outstanding Track Performer: Wayne Gordon, Kent State
Most Outstanding Field Performer: Matthias Tayala, Kent State
Coach of the Year: John Goodridge, EMU

EMU All-MAC First Team Selections
Tyler Brown
Cameron Bolton
Pedro Delgado
Willy Fink
Solomon Ijah
Donald Scott
Kevin Snead
Matthew Williams

EMU All-MAC Second Team Selections
Scott Bradley
Ryan Brumfield
Jason Ervin
Levi Selvig

EMU Individual Results (* signifies a personal best, # is an EMU record, M is a MAC meet record)

100m Dash Finals
3. Bolton Cameron	10.49*
4. Snead, Kevin	10.56
9. Delgado, Pedro	10.70

110m Hurdles Finals
3. Lindsey, Bryce	14.28
4. Ijah, Solomon	14.43

200m Dash Finals
4. Bolton, Cameron	21.17
6. Brown, Tyler	21.52
8. Snead, Kevin	21.63

400m Dash Finals
1. Brown, Tyler	46.19
5. Ervin, Jason	47.82
9. Williams, Matthew	47.91

400m Hurdles Finals
9. Cooke, Mark	55.00

800m Run Finals
2. Bradley, Scott	1:51.03
5. Waynes, Mason	1:51.56*
9. Sparks, Stephen	1:53.15*

1500m Run
4. Raymond, Nick	3:48.70*
6. Andresson, Hlynur	3:50.34*
10. Lenneman, Mitch	3:55.91

5000m Run
1. Fink, Willy	14:13.91
3. Witchell, Warren	14:26.28
5. Andresson, Hlynur	14:46.39

4x100m Relay
1. Snead, Bolton, Williams, Delgado	39.95#

4x400m Relay
2. Williams, Bolton, Ervin, Brown	3:11.48

High Jump
2. Brumfield, Ryan	2.09m/6-10.25

Pole Vault
9. Stites, Dylan	J4.55m/14-11.00
9. Selvig, Levi	J4.55m/14-11.00

Triple Jump
1. Scott, Donald	16.24m/53-03.50M
4. Fischre, Chris	14.30m/46-11.00
6. Brumfield, Ryan	13.97m/45-10.00*

Discus Throw
12. Levering, Quinn	44.76m/146-10
14. Harris, Travis	44.00m/144-04

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Hlynur Andresson

Cameron Bolton

Scott Bradley

Tyler Brown

Ryan Brumfield

Mark Cooke

Pedro Delgado

Jason Ervin

Willy Fink

Chris Fischre

Travis Harris

Mitch Lenneman

Quinn Levering

Bryce Lindsey

Nick Raymond

Donald Scott

Levi Selvig

Solomon Simmons

Kevin Snead

Stephen Sparks

Dylan Stites

Mason Waynes

Matthew Williams

Warren Witchell

Eastern Michigan Athletics