Men's Track and Field Looks to Repeat as MAC Indoor Champions

AKRON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University men's track and field team prepares to defend its Mid-American Conference Indoor championship Feb. 22-23, in Kent, Ohio. EMU looks to earn its conference-leading 16th MAC indoor championship led by three-time and reigning conference coach of the year John Goodridge, and 2018 MAC Assistant Coach of the Year Sterling Roberts.

While the Eagles have several key competitors from their championship run a season ago, they return to the league championships with last year's both Freshman Track Performer of the Year and Co-Most Valuable Performer Owen Day (Ottowa, Ontario-International School of Dusseldorf) and 15 student-athletes currently holding top-five 2019 conference marks. Leading the Eagles' sprinting efforts are juniors Terrell Posada (Naples, Fla.-Naples High) and Joshuwa Holloman (Auburn Hills, Mich.-Avondale), who hold the second and third-fastest 60m runs by a MAC athlete this season with times of 6.80 and 6.82, respectively. Posada also holds the fifth-best time in the 200m dash by a conference athlete this season. Furthermore, the Green and White's sprint efforts will also be supported by nationally-ranked 400m runners senior Tyler Underwood (Clinton, Mich.-Clinton) and sophomore Owen Richardson (Basingstoke, England), who not only hold the top two fastest efforts in the event in the conference, but their efforts of 46.65 and 47.21 rank 25th and 60th in the event throughout the country, respectively.

In the distance events, Day will be aided by senior Melika Ghali (Toronto, Canada-Jarvis Collegiate Institute), who currently holds the top marks by a conference athlete in the 3000m and 5000m events with performances of 8:10.31 and 14:29.13, respectively, as well as the fourth-best Mile time in the conference. Day holds the top league mark in the Mile and the second-best 3000m effort, behind only Ghali. Day also ranks fourth in the MAC with an 800m dash time of 1:56.06. Rounding out the 2019 regular season top marks from Eastern Michigan's tracksters are junior Ivan Suazo (Brooklyn, N.Y.-Westland) and senior Frank Douglas (Mansfield, Ohio-Madison Comprehensive), who hold the conference's fourth and fifth best 60m hurdle efforts with times of 8.06 and 8.10, respectively.

In the field, the Green and White have seven athletes who hold top-five conference marks through the 2019 regular season, including seniors Zach Harkey (Huron, Ohio-Huron), Cameron Hart (Columbus, Ohio-Bishop Hartley), Nick Herbert (Portage, Mich.-Portage Northern), and Zach Purcilly (Troy, Mich.-Avondale), junior Carlos Sanchez Juan (Onil, Spain-Ies La Creueta), and sophomores Skyler Lester (Marietta, Ga.-Marietta) and Newlyn Stephenson (Gary, Ind.-Thea Bowman Leadership Academy). Harkey and Stephenson lead the Eagles' Weight Throw efforts with the third and fifth best throws this regular season, clearing 20.14m and 19.16m, respectively. In the jump events, Hart and Lester's leaps of 2.06m and 2.05m in the high jump rank third and fifth-best in the MAC, while Sanchez-Juan holds the fourth-furthest long jump effort, clearing 7.41m, and Herbert also ranks fourth in the conference with a clearance in the triple jump of 15.09m. Additionally, Purcilly holds the fourth-best shot put effort this season with a regular season-closing heave of 17.05m at the GVSU Big Meet, Feb. 8.

Last year's competition saw the Eagles break its three-year runner-up finish streak with commanding performances throughout the meet held Feb. 23-24, 2018 in Bowling Green, Ohio. The first day of the conference championships saw then-redshirt seniors Nick Raymond and Lahsene Bouchikhi snag first and second place finishes in the 5000m, respectively, representing the only EMU individual event title of the day. The Green and White's other event win from Friday came from distance medley crew of then-redshirt seniors Mitch Lenneman and Hlynur Andresson, then-freshman Dennis Manyeah, and then-senior Tom Joazwiak, who gathered the distance medley relay title with an impressive time of 10:03.09. Eastern Michigan finished the first day of the Indoor Championships sitting in second place with 41 points.

The second day of the championships saw EMU complete the come-from-behind victory for its 15th conference title, using six event titles throughout Saturday's events. Then-senior Tyler Brown secured the 400m dash title with a time of 47.50, while then-freshman Day earned top finishes in both the 800m and Mile with efforts of 1:53.57 and 4:08.71, respectively. Both athletes were named First Team All-MAC. Fellow Co-Most Valuable Performer Nick Raymond collected his second individual event title of the competition in the 3000m with a time of 8:24.65.

The talented Eastern Michigan squad begins competition at the 2019 MAC Indoor Track and Field Championships at 10:45 a.m. with the Heptathlon's 60m dash Friday, Feb. 22. Saturday's events will begin at 11 a.m. with the Heptathlon's 60m Hurdles. For more information about the conference championships, including the event's full schedule, click here or visit the Men's Track and Field schedule page on EMUEagles.com.

Men's Track and Field Looks to Repeat as MAC Indoor Champions

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Players Mentioned

Hlynur Andresson

Lahsene Bouchikhi

Tyler Brown

Owen Day

Frank Douglas

Melika Ghali

Zach Harkey

Cameron Hart

Nick Herbert

Joshuwa Holloman

Mitch Lenneman

Skyler Lester

Terrell Posada

Zach Purcilly

Nick Raymond

Owen Richardson

Carlos Sanchez Juan

Newlyn Stephenson

Ivan Suazo

Tyler Underwood

Eastern Michigan Athletics