Eastern Michigan Athletics
Remembering Bob Parks: Week 14
6/10/2021 9:19:00 AM | Men's XC, Men's Track & Field
Cross country wins fifth-straight MAC title, 1993-1995
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) -- Head Coach Bob Parks came into the fall season having led his cross country program to three-straight Mid-American Conference titles and was looking to make it a four-peat. His squad was picked to finish first in the MAC as they returned veterans Dominic Middleton and Clive Bonelle as well as a fast-improving Paul McMullen.
The team opened up the season in a double dual meet against Michigan State and Arizona in East Lansing, Mich. Parks' daughter, Sue Parks, was victorious as her women's team won the meet. Meanwhile, the EMU men's team was second overall, falling to the Spartans 41-37. Middleton took sixth (25:25) while McMullen rounded out the top-10 (25:45).
The Green and Gold went to Kalamazoo next for another double dual meet, this time against league foes Western Michigan and Ball State. Carl Warren (24:49) and Middleton (25:24) went 1-2 with three other Eagles finishing in the top-seven for the double victory. Weeks later, Eastern Michigan made its way to South Bend, Ind. for the challenging Notre Dame Invitational. Middleton had a great outing, placing ninth in the 130-man field. EMU finished 11th overall out of 20 teams and was edged by Kent State, 280-287.
The MAC Championship race was held in Mount Pleasant, Mich. where EMU was hoping Middleton's nagging foot injury would hold up after resting it. With 1K left in the race, Warren and Jason Boothroyd pulled away from Miami's top runner to finish 1-2, respectively. Middleton ran tough to capture fifth in 25:12 while Clint Verran (15th - 25:32) and Rick Carr (17th - 25:35) performed well to defeat Miami, 40-51.
At the regional meet in Bloomington, Ind., where the team did not execute as well as they'd hoped. Middleton dropped out of the race due to his nagging injury while others found themselves far behind and could not make up the ground. Warren (33:09) and Boothroyd (33:11) had great outings, however, earning All-District honors for their efforts to finish the cross country season.
Early in the indoor season, the Eagles hosted the EMU Open where several of Parks' tracksters had a great day. In the 800m, Eastern went 1-2-3-4 with Tommy Asinga pacing the team in 1:50.91. Tiberia Patterson ran a PR 7.25 clip in the 55m hurdles to set a new field house and varsity record, as well as hit an NCAA provisional mark. At the UM Relays, the Green and Gold won six events, making a lot of noise in the process. James Chikwe leaped 25'-4" for a new varsity record and an NCAA provisional mark. Asinga also broke a school record, this time in the 600m run (1:18.67). Warren registered a career-high 8:16.42 in the 3000m race to edge Western Michigan's top runner. Additionally, Parks' 4x400m relay team bested the host school as they crossed the finish line in 3:14.68.
At the MAC Invitational, the Eagles dominated for their ninth consecutive indoor league title, winning by a margin of 83.5 points as they scored in every event. The distance medley relay team set a new field house, varsity, and MAC record by achieving a time of 9:38.13. The time also qualified the squad for the NCAA meet later in the year. Meanwhile, Kevin Lawson blew away the competition in the 200m dash in 21.25, another NCAA qualifying mark.
Patterson kicked off EMU's appearance at the NCAAs by finishing fourth in the 55m hurdles in 7.26. Lawson landed ninth in the 200m dash with a 21.5 clip. Greg Rhymer and Asinga both made it to the finals in the 800m race, with Rhymer notching sixth (1:49.60) and Asinga taking eighth (1:52.63). McMullen also made the finals in the mile where he ultimately grabbed fourth in 4:01.64 against a strong field. Due to members of the distance medley relay team running in events prior to the group race, the DMR time suffered. The crew finished in seventh in 9:45.79 to wrap up the indoor season.
Parks and Co. flew down to Tucson, Ariz. for Arizona's Willie Williams Invitational where the 5000m race was held in an intense rainstorm. Before the downpour, McMullen (3:50.88) and Boothroyd (3:51.82) went 1-2 in the 1500 while Rhymer took the 800m race in 1:51.72. Patterson continued to impress with a first-place finish in the 110m high hurdles (14.08). In the field, Tony Barton notched a victory in the long jump with a launch of 23'-11.5".
Weeks later, the whole team traveled to the Ohio University Invitational where the team scored 194.5 points to runner up West Virginia's 149. Lawson won both the 100m (10.27) and 200m (20.74) and then ran the second leg of the 4x200m relay as the team crossed the finish line in 1:24.70. Additionally, the Eagles went 1-2 in both the 800m and 1500m races. Everett Goodson paced all participants in the triple jump, winning with a leap of 48'-11".
At the Drake Relays, after coming in second in the 4x1600m relay, Parks' 4x800m squad took home the title for their third-straight win in the event at the annual meet in 7:21.70. The following day, the sprint medley team also bested all competitors with a 3:18.53 time. Later on, McMullen (3:48.61) and Boothroyd (3:50.38) went 2-3 in the 1500m, McMullen's third event of the weekend.
At the MAC Outdoor Championships in Athens, Ohio, the Green and Gold did not come out strong, scoring just three points. Over the course of the meet, the Eagles didn't score in the 10,000m, pole vault, high jump, and discus, however, the running events made up for it. Eastern Michigan swept the 800m and 1500m for 48 points as Asinga won his fourth-straight 800m title in 1:51.51. Meanwhile, Warren outran the field in the steeplechase (8:52.41) and the 5000m (14:34.38) for the double victory. Lawson (21.21) and David Benjamin (21.34) ended their careers by going 1-2 in the 200m dash.
Rhymer and Asinga both qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 800m run for their performances during the regular season. Rhymer placed fifth (1:49.81) in his heat and thus didn't qualify for the finals while Asinga notched fourth (1:47.28) in the finals. In the 110m high hurdles, Patterson advanced to the semifinals but failed to make the finals after taking fifth (14.00). Lawson, who had been nursing an injury, qualified in the 100m and 200m dashes, but did not make it out of the preliminaries. Lastly, McMullen ran a tough 1500m race in the finals, crossing the finish line in 3:44.87 for fourth overall to wrap up the outdoor season.
Parks had led his harriers to four consecutive MAC cross country titles and was looking for another league championship in 1994. With Boothroyd, Bonelle, and Middleton all returning as well as several reliable numbers, things were shaping up nicely for the Eagles.
EMU hosted the Huron Shore Invitational that fall for a nine-team men's meet and a seven-team women's meet. Verran finished runner-up in the 8K race in 25:35, followed by Middleton (3rd - 25:38), and McMullen (10th - 26:07). Freshman Mike Franko rounded out the top-20 in 26:38 to help give Eastern a 49-75 win over Michigan.
Despite the great start to the season, injuries and poor performances added up in the middle of the season. At the Notre Dame Invitational, the Eagles were without Middleton (flu) while Bonelle (nagging injury) placed 112th. Boothroyd pace all Eagles with a 25th-place finish (25:16) as the Green and Gold ultimately finished eighth overall with 251 points. Central Michigan was the lone MAC school to perform better, notching seventh.
Eastern Michigan hosted the league race for the first time since 1987 in front of a large crowd, including a number of EMU coaches from other sports. The race was tight through the first 5K, but the runners began to disperse, with four of the top-eight donning the Green and Gold. Three of Parks' men finished in the top-five and Bonelle, the fifth man, finished in 17th for the win. The final score read 37-64 over Ohio University as Middleton earned his fourth All-MAC season and Parks was named Coach of the Year.
The team heated up at the regional meet in West Lafayette, Ind., where the Eagles placed fifth out of 32 teams with 184 points. Boothroyd (31:16) and Middleton (31:22) placed 11th and 15th, respectively, to individually qualify them for the national meet. In Fayetteville, Ark., the two ran tough, but ultimately did not finish as high as they'd hoped for. Middleton took 114th in 32:29 with Boothroyd placing 149th in 33:23 out of 178 runners to conclude the cross country season.
During the indoor track & field season, Eastern Michigan hosted the EMU Classic inside Bowen Field House where Arkansas made the trip in an attempt to qualify for the NCAAs in the distance medley relay. Jeff Beyst started the race for the Eagles in the 800m (1:53.8) and handed the baton off to Kerch Patterson for the 400m leg. Patterson achieved a 48.9 time as the Green and Gold trailed the Razorbacks by just a few yards. Boothroyd took the baton next for the 1200m leg, closing the gap to just two yards as McMullen took off for the anchor leg. McMullen ran tight with Arkansas' Canadian Olympian, Graham Hood, finishing his split in 3:56.4. Despite running a slightly faster split, Eastern was bested 9:34.84-9:35.26. However, both teams' times automatically qualified for nationals. Meanwhile, Lawson hit a provisional mark in the 200m as he won the event in 21.31, while Sam Sheffer took the pentathlon with 3339 points.
At the MAC Invitational in Kent, Ohio, McMullen pulled triple duty as he competed in the 800m, mile, and 3000m races, winning all three. Additionally, the Eagles swept the 800, went 1-2 in the mile, and 1-4 in the 3000. Elsewhere on the track, Verran notched a victory in the 5000m (14:44.17) while the distance medley relay squad edged Bowling Green State, clocking in at 9:56.21. Despite having only eight people score points for the team, EMU wrapped up the meet with a 122-98 advantage over second-place Toledo.
McMullen, Lawson, and the distance medley relay team qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in Indianapolis where Eastern Michigan had a great showing. McMullen competed in the mile where he made it to the finals. In the final race, he even created some distance between himself and the favorites, but was unable to hold on, placing third overall in 3:58.21. The Michigan native came back to run in the distance medley relay, where the team squared off against Arkansas once again. McMullen ran a 3:58.0 1600m split, but it wasn't quite enough to earn the gold as the Razorbacks finished first in 9:36.33 to Eastern's 9:36.95. Lawson narrowly missed out on making the 200m dash finals, hitting 21.44 to end his career in the Green and Gold. EMU finished 17th in the team standings as the team closed the book on the 1995 indoor season.
After a few small meets to open the outdoor slate, the whole team eventually got together for the Ohio University Invitational. Eastern Michigan won the meet handily, racking up 204 points to Ohio's 136 as it won five events and was runner up in seven. McMullen took the 800m (1:53.9) and 1500m (3:49.8) as the team scored at least 15 points in the 400, 800, 1500, long jump, triple jump, and javelin. The next stop for the Eagles was the Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville, Tenn. where McMullen was named MVP of the meet after achieving a time of 3:49.8 in the 1500m to automatically qualify for the NCAAs. He came back to anchor the 4x800 in 7:29.41 to tie for fourth overall in the team standings with Tennessee with 27 points.
Parks' team had another great showing at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. The Green and Gold won the 4x1600m relay with McMullen once again anchoring the team to victory, moving the team from fifth to first as he crossed the finish line with a 3:58.5 split with an overall time of 16:28.91. Later in the day, he ran the final leg of the 4x800m relay for third (7:22.47) while the shuttle hurdle relay team edged Northern Iowa. 57.71-57.83.
Weeks later, the team headed west for the MAC Outdoor Championships in Kalamazoo. Western Michigan had a deep field team that outscored the Eagles 85-16. Goodson was EMU's top performer in the field, finishing runner up in the triple jump with a PR of 50'-0.75". Eastern had to make up a lot of ground on the track moving forward as the team didn't score in six-of-eight events. The tracksters swept the 800m and 1500m races, as Parks expected, with McMullen winning both. McMullen came back to win the 5000m race while others did their best to rake in points for the effort. It came down to the 4x100m relay where Park's team needed to beat Western's by two places to win it all. The Eagles finished first in 3:11.45, but the Broncos came in second as the Brown and Gold edged EMU by .5 points. McMullen was voted Co-MVP of the meet alongside Calvin Bostic of Toledo.
Rhymer and McMullen both made it to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Knoxville, competing in the 800m and 1500m, respectively. Rhymer ran a 1:48.74 for fourth in his preliminary heat, not quite enough to advance to the finals. Meanwhile, McMullen got caught in another tight 1500m race with Michigan's Kevin Sullivan. Sullivan made a move late in the race to take home the gold in 3:37.57 with McMullen in a close second, 3:38.74 to end his career as an Eagle.
Be sure to follow along in the following weeks as we continue to take a deep dive into Bob Parks' legacy at Eastern Michigan University.
The team opened up the season in a double dual meet against Michigan State and Arizona in East Lansing, Mich. Parks' daughter, Sue Parks, was victorious as her women's team won the meet. Meanwhile, the EMU men's team was second overall, falling to the Spartans 41-37. Middleton took sixth (25:25) while McMullen rounded out the top-10 (25:45).
The Green and Gold went to Kalamazoo next for another double dual meet, this time against league foes Western Michigan and Ball State. Carl Warren (24:49) and Middleton (25:24) went 1-2 with three other Eagles finishing in the top-seven for the double victory. Weeks later, Eastern Michigan made its way to South Bend, Ind. for the challenging Notre Dame Invitational. Middleton had a great outing, placing ninth in the 130-man field. EMU finished 11th overall out of 20 teams and was edged by Kent State, 280-287.
The MAC Championship race was held in Mount Pleasant, Mich. where EMU was hoping Middleton's nagging foot injury would hold up after resting it. With 1K left in the race, Warren and Jason Boothroyd pulled away from Miami's top runner to finish 1-2, respectively. Middleton ran tough to capture fifth in 25:12 while Clint Verran (15th - 25:32) and Rick Carr (17th - 25:35) performed well to defeat Miami, 40-51.
At the regional meet in Bloomington, Ind., where the team did not execute as well as they'd hoped. Middleton dropped out of the race due to his nagging injury while others found themselves far behind and could not make up the ground. Warren (33:09) and Boothroyd (33:11) had great outings, however, earning All-District honors for their efforts to finish the cross country season.
Early in the indoor season, the Eagles hosted the EMU Open where several of Parks' tracksters had a great day. In the 800m, Eastern went 1-2-3-4 with Tommy Asinga pacing the team in 1:50.91. Tiberia Patterson ran a PR 7.25 clip in the 55m hurdles to set a new field house and varsity record, as well as hit an NCAA provisional mark. At the UM Relays, the Green and Gold won six events, making a lot of noise in the process. James Chikwe leaped 25'-4" for a new varsity record and an NCAA provisional mark. Asinga also broke a school record, this time in the 600m run (1:18.67). Warren registered a career-high 8:16.42 in the 3000m race to edge Western Michigan's top runner. Additionally, Parks' 4x400m relay team bested the host school as they crossed the finish line in 3:14.68.
At the MAC Invitational, the Eagles dominated for their ninth consecutive indoor league title, winning by a margin of 83.5 points as they scored in every event. The distance medley relay team set a new field house, varsity, and MAC record by achieving a time of 9:38.13. The time also qualified the squad for the NCAA meet later in the year. Meanwhile, Kevin Lawson blew away the competition in the 200m dash in 21.25, another NCAA qualifying mark.
Patterson kicked off EMU's appearance at the NCAAs by finishing fourth in the 55m hurdles in 7.26. Lawson landed ninth in the 200m dash with a 21.5 clip. Greg Rhymer and Asinga both made it to the finals in the 800m race, with Rhymer notching sixth (1:49.60) and Asinga taking eighth (1:52.63). McMullen also made the finals in the mile where he ultimately grabbed fourth in 4:01.64 against a strong field. Due to members of the distance medley relay team running in events prior to the group race, the DMR time suffered. The crew finished in seventh in 9:45.79 to wrap up the indoor season.
Parks and Co. flew down to Tucson, Ariz. for Arizona's Willie Williams Invitational where the 5000m race was held in an intense rainstorm. Before the downpour, McMullen (3:50.88) and Boothroyd (3:51.82) went 1-2 in the 1500 while Rhymer took the 800m race in 1:51.72. Patterson continued to impress with a first-place finish in the 110m high hurdles (14.08). In the field, Tony Barton notched a victory in the long jump with a launch of 23'-11.5".
Weeks later, the whole team traveled to the Ohio University Invitational where the team scored 194.5 points to runner up West Virginia's 149. Lawson won both the 100m (10.27) and 200m (20.74) and then ran the second leg of the 4x200m relay as the team crossed the finish line in 1:24.70. Additionally, the Eagles went 1-2 in both the 800m and 1500m races. Everett Goodson paced all participants in the triple jump, winning with a leap of 48'-11".
At the Drake Relays, after coming in second in the 4x1600m relay, Parks' 4x800m squad took home the title for their third-straight win in the event at the annual meet in 7:21.70. The following day, the sprint medley team also bested all competitors with a 3:18.53 time. Later on, McMullen (3:48.61) and Boothroyd (3:50.38) went 2-3 in the 1500m, McMullen's third event of the weekend.
At the MAC Outdoor Championships in Athens, Ohio, the Green and Gold did not come out strong, scoring just three points. Over the course of the meet, the Eagles didn't score in the 10,000m, pole vault, high jump, and discus, however, the running events made up for it. Eastern Michigan swept the 800m and 1500m for 48 points as Asinga won his fourth-straight 800m title in 1:51.51. Meanwhile, Warren outran the field in the steeplechase (8:52.41) and the 5000m (14:34.38) for the double victory. Lawson (21.21) and David Benjamin (21.34) ended their careers by going 1-2 in the 200m dash.
Rhymer and Asinga both qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the 800m run for their performances during the regular season. Rhymer placed fifth (1:49.81) in his heat and thus didn't qualify for the finals while Asinga notched fourth (1:47.28) in the finals. In the 110m high hurdles, Patterson advanced to the semifinals but failed to make the finals after taking fifth (14.00). Lawson, who had been nursing an injury, qualified in the 100m and 200m dashes, but did not make it out of the preliminaries. Lastly, McMullen ran a tough 1500m race in the finals, crossing the finish line in 3:44.87 for fourth overall to wrap up the outdoor season.
Parks had led his harriers to four consecutive MAC cross country titles and was looking for another league championship in 1994. With Boothroyd, Bonelle, and Middleton all returning as well as several reliable numbers, things were shaping up nicely for the Eagles.
EMU hosted the Huron Shore Invitational that fall for a nine-team men's meet and a seven-team women's meet. Verran finished runner-up in the 8K race in 25:35, followed by Middleton (3rd - 25:38), and McMullen (10th - 26:07). Freshman Mike Franko rounded out the top-20 in 26:38 to help give Eastern a 49-75 win over Michigan.
Despite the great start to the season, injuries and poor performances added up in the middle of the season. At the Notre Dame Invitational, the Eagles were without Middleton (flu) while Bonelle (nagging injury) placed 112th. Boothroyd pace all Eagles with a 25th-place finish (25:16) as the Green and Gold ultimately finished eighth overall with 251 points. Central Michigan was the lone MAC school to perform better, notching seventh.
Eastern Michigan hosted the league race for the first time since 1987 in front of a large crowd, including a number of EMU coaches from other sports. The race was tight through the first 5K, but the runners began to disperse, with four of the top-eight donning the Green and Gold. Three of Parks' men finished in the top-five and Bonelle, the fifth man, finished in 17th for the win. The final score read 37-64 over Ohio University as Middleton earned his fourth All-MAC season and Parks was named Coach of the Year.
The team heated up at the regional meet in West Lafayette, Ind., where the Eagles placed fifth out of 32 teams with 184 points. Boothroyd (31:16) and Middleton (31:22) placed 11th and 15th, respectively, to individually qualify them for the national meet. In Fayetteville, Ark., the two ran tough, but ultimately did not finish as high as they'd hoped for. Middleton took 114th in 32:29 with Boothroyd placing 149th in 33:23 out of 178 runners to conclude the cross country season.
During the indoor track & field season, Eastern Michigan hosted the EMU Classic inside Bowen Field House where Arkansas made the trip in an attempt to qualify for the NCAAs in the distance medley relay. Jeff Beyst started the race for the Eagles in the 800m (1:53.8) and handed the baton off to Kerch Patterson for the 400m leg. Patterson achieved a 48.9 time as the Green and Gold trailed the Razorbacks by just a few yards. Boothroyd took the baton next for the 1200m leg, closing the gap to just two yards as McMullen took off for the anchor leg. McMullen ran tight with Arkansas' Canadian Olympian, Graham Hood, finishing his split in 3:56.4. Despite running a slightly faster split, Eastern was bested 9:34.84-9:35.26. However, both teams' times automatically qualified for nationals. Meanwhile, Lawson hit a provisional mark in the 200m as he won the event in 21.31, while Sam Sheffer took the pentathlon with 3339 points.
At the MAC Invitational in Kent, Ohio, McMullen pulled triple duty as he competed in the 800m, mile, and 3000m races, winning all three. Additionally, the Eagles swept the 800, went 1-2 in the mile, and 1-4 in the 3000. Elsewhere on the track, Verran notched a victory in the 5000m (14:44.17) while the distance medley relay squad edged Bowling Green State, clocking in at 9:56.21. Despite having only eight people score points for the team, EMU wrapped up the meet with a 122-98 advantage over second-place Toledo.
McMullen, Lawson, and the distance medley relay team qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships in Indianapolis where Eastern Michigan had a great showing. McMullen competed in the mile where he made it to the finals. In the final race, he even created some distance between himself and the favorites, but was unable to hold on, placing third overall in 3:58.21. The Michigan native came back to run in the distance medley relay, where the team squared off against Arkansas once again. McMullen ran a 3:58.0 1600m split, but it wasn't quite enough to earn the gold as the Razorbacks finished first in 9:36.33 to Eastern's 9:36.95. Lawson narrowly missed out on making the 200m dash finals, hitting 21.44 to end his career in the Green and Gold. EMU finished 17th in the team standings as the team closed the book on the 1995 indoor season.
After a few small meets to open the outdoor slate, the whole team eventually got together for the Ohio University Invitational. Eastern Michigan won the meet handily, racking up 204 points to Ohio's 136 as it won five events and was runner up in seven. McMullen took the 800m (1:53.9) and 1500m (3:49.8) as the team scored at least 15 points in the 400, 800, 1500, long jump, triple jump, and javelin. The next stop for the Eagles was the Sea Ray Relays in Knoxville, Tenn. where McMullen was named MVP of the meet after achieving a time of 3:49.8 in the 1500m to automatically qualify for the NCAAs. He came back to anchor the 4x800 in 7:29.41 to tie for fourth overall in the team standings with Tennessee with 27 points.
Parks' team had another great showing at the Drake Relays in Des Moines, Iowa. The Green and Gold won the 4x1600m relay with McMullen once again anchoring the team to victory, moving the team from fifth to first as he crossed the finish line with a 3:58.5 split with an overall time of 16:28.91. Later in the day, he ran the final leg of the 4x800m relay for third (7:22.47) while the shuttle hurdle relay team edged Northern Iowa. 57.71-57.83.
Weeks later, the team headed west for the MAC Outdoor Championships in Kalamazoo. Western Michigan had a deep field team that outscored the Eagles 85-16. Goodson was EMU's top performer in the field, finishing runner up in the triple jump with a PR of 50'-0.75". Eastern had to make up a lot of ground on the track moving forward as the team didn't score in six-of-eight events. The tracksters swept the 800m and 1500m races, as Parks expected, with McMullen winning both. McMullen came back to win the 5000m race while others did their best to rake in points for the effort. It came down to the 4x100m relay where Park's team needed to beat Western's by two places to win it all. The Eagles finished first in 3:11.45, but the Broncos came in second as the Brown and Gold edged EMU by .5 points. McMullen was voted Co-MVP of the meet alongside Calvin Bostic of Toledo.
Rhymer and McMullen both made it to the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Knoxville, competing in the 800m and 1500m, respectively. Rhymer ran a 1:48.74 for fourth in his preliminary heat, not quite enough to advance to the finals. Meanwhile, McMullen got caught in another tight 1500m race with Michigan's Kevin Sullivan. Sullivan made a move late in the race to take home the gold in 3:37.57 with McMullen in a close second, 3:38.74 to end his career as an Eagle.
Be sure to follow along in the following weeks as we continue to take a deep dive into Bob Parks' legacy at Eastern Michigan University.
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