Eastern Michigan Athletics
Eastern Michigan University
MAC Outdoor Championships
Track and Field Ready for MAC Outdoor Championships
5/9/2023 11:57:00 AM | Men's Track & Field, Women's Track & Field
The event runs Thursday-Sunday, May 11-13, in Akron, Ohio
Live Results
AKRON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's and women's track and field teams will compete at the Mid-American Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships beginning, Thursday, May 11 and concluding Saturday, May 13. This year's championship will be hosted by the University of Akron in Akron, Ohio.
A full list of events and live scoring will be available by clicking here or on the link at the top of the page once entries are finalized. Both the Eastern men's and women's teams will be looking to build upon an already successful 2023 campaign that saw the units sweep the MAC Indoor titles. The pair of wins brought EMU's all-time institutional total for MAC titles to 157, the most in the league.
LAST YEAR'S EVENT: Last year, the men's team finished second with 155 points behind Kent State University's 196. The women's team took third as they had 108 points, while Akron finished with 124 points to capture the championship.
On the men's side last year, Baldvin Magnusson (Akureyri, Iceland-Hull University) was named the Most Valuable Performer as he won three events. He won the 1,500m (3:47.52), the 5,000m (14:41.99) and the 10,000m (30:14.23).
This year's men's team returns athletes who accounted for 10 top-three finishes last season, with four champions and a trio of second and third place performers back in action this weekend.
Almighty Williamson (Baltimore, Md.-Digital Harbor-Barton C.C.) won the 110m hurdles in 13.73 a season ago, while Payne Wylie (Elstow, Saskatchewan-Colonsay School) was second in 13.96. Dante Lander (Dayton, Ohio-West Carrollton-Central Michigan) placed fourth (14.38) as the Eagles dominated the event.
In the field, Ousman Kamara (Coatesville, Pa.-Coatesville) recorded a career-high high jump of 2.07m to finish second. Lander took second in the 400m hurdles with a personal-best time of 51.87 while Wylie came in third (54.10).
Newlyn Stephenson (Gary, Ind.-Thea Bowman Leadership Academy) finished third in the hammer throw with a mark of 63.83m while Brendan Hill (Huber Heights, Ohio-Wayne) took third in the high jump (2.04m).
Edwards is the only MAC champion and second place finisher that the Eagles return, while Alysse Wade (Mansfield, Ohio-St. Peter's) posted a time of 13.68 to finish third in the 100m hurdles and Maura Lane (Cary, N.C.-Panther Creek-Campbell) earned bronze with a vault of 3.59m in the pole vault.
The women's 4x100 relay has won the event for six straight seasons. Last year, Saraiah Walkes (Manatee County, Fla.-The-Out-of-Door Academy), Edwards, Kilani Harvey (Orlando, Fla.-Jones (Morehead State) and Keypathwa Gibson won with a time of 45.70.
This season, Angel Gazaway (Cincinnati, Ohio-Princeton) has the top time in the MAC in both the 100m hurdles (13.54) and the 400m hurdles (59.51).
Walkes has the top time in the 200m (23.87) while Noriyah Johnson (Chania, Greece-Second General-Abielene Christian) has the best time in the conference this season in the 400m (54.77).
The Eagles 4x400m relay of Gazaway, Edwards, Chevonne Wheeler (Redford, Mich.-Divine Child) and Johnson have posted the best time in the MAC this season (3:42.30).
On the men's side, Williamson has the top time in the 110m hurdles (13.76), Carson McCoy (Pittsburgh, Pa.-Deer Lakes) has the best time in the 800m (1:50.56) and Magnusson has the top time in the 1,500m (3:40.46).
In the field events, Yvan Lopes Riberio (Nice, France-Lycee Honore d'Estiennes d'Orves-American International) has the top mark in MAC in both the triple jump (15.66m) and the long jump (7.77m) this season.
Stephenson has the top mark in the hammer (65.90m) while Hill is tied for the best leap in the high jump (2.05m).
The men's 4x100m relay of Williamson, Kaleb Simpson (Bexley, Ohio-St. Charles Prep), Kyle Martin (Ypsilanti, Mich.-Ann Arbor Huron) and Richie Sadler (Greenville, S.C.-Greer-Coastal Carolina) have with the top time of 40.25 in the conference this season.
CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY: A combined total of 36 of EMU's 157 Mid-American Conference championships have been earned in outdoor track and field, with the men's program claiming 24 and the women notching 12 of their own.
Eastern's most recent outdoor championship came in 2018, when the men's team totaled 184.5 points en route to their first championship since 2015. Additionally, with that title, the Eagles finished their year as the MAC cross country, indoor, and outdoor champions. It was the fourth time the program has completed the triple crown (2000-01, 01-02, 06-07, 17-18) since 1981, and just the seventh time the feat has been accomplished in the conference history for both men and women.
The women most recently claimed team gold in 2016. Also a triple-crow-claiming effort, 15 Eagles place within the top-three as the Eagles captured their 12th Mid-American Conference title in program history. The Green and White finished with 152 points to secure the win, while second-place Akron totaled 130 points. The Eagles had an extraordinary final day of competition, amassing a whopping total of 119 points to jump from fourth to first by a large margin. With the victory, Eastern became the first program since Akron in 2005-06 to win the cross country, indoor, and outdoor championships all within one season. Overall, the team had five event wins, with both the mid-distance and distance squads doing exceptionally well.
EMU's first championships in outdoor track and field came for the men in 1974, and the women in 1982, respectively.
Players Mentioned
