The University of Akron Athletics
Track Hosts Akron Open; Announce Schedule Change
February 01 | Track & Field
AKRON, Ohio – Starting Friday night with three events and now culminating Saturday from 1:00-3:30 pm with invitational portion – or Gold Section – of the meet, the Zips' indoor track and field team will host the 2007 Akron Open Feb. 2-3 at the Athletics Field House. The two-and-half, fan-friendly invitational will feature some of the area's top athletes, as well as premier athletes from Midwest, East and South.
All told, over 1,100 athletes will complete in the event, including athletes from schools such as Akron, Ohio State, Kent State, Pittsburgh, Buffalo, Youngstown State, Bucknell, St. Francis (Pa.), Western Carolina, Appalachian State, Maryland-Eastern Shore, Detroit-Mercy, IP-Fort Wayne, Marshall, Oakland, Duquesne, Valparaiso and Winthrop.
"I believe this is the largest field we have hosted for a collegiate meet," said head coach Dennis Mitchell. "For us, this meet is a great time for individuals to shine. Our focus will be for individuals to focus on just their primary event. This field has great competition and that will push each individual to achieve high marks. We not only get to see some familiar teams, but have some new faces this year, which helps keep the event fresh. I am really excited for 1:00 Saturday to roll around to watch everything unfold."
The fast-paced Gold Section on Saturday, which was originally scheduled to start at 3:30 pm, is sandwiched between two developmental sections – or Blue Section. On Saturday, the first Blue Section will start at 10 am and run through Noon, giving way to the Gold Section at 1:00 pm with start of the women's pole vault, men's and women's high jump, men's and women's long jump, men's weight throw and women's shot put. The Gold Section will draw to a close starting at 3:15 with the running of the 4x400 men's and women's relays. The second Blue Section will resume at 3:30 with the triple jump and ending at 6:00 pm with the 5,000 meters, which will feature invitational athletes.
Kicking off the 2007 Akron Open on Friday will be the heptathlon 60 meters at 5 pm, followed by the pentathlon 60-meter hurdles. Friday will conclude with the men's and women's discus, starting at 6 pm.
For the Zips, several athletes not only enter the weekend with the best performances in the MAC, but feature some of the nation's top performers. Nationally, Randall Hafner owns the 12th-best effort to date in the weight throw with a conference-best distance of 65-0.75. For the UA women, both Natalie Sako and Lisa Ravn rank among the nation's leaders in the high jump with Sako clearing 5-10 to rank eighth in NCAA and Ravn clearing 5-6 to rank 13th. Sophomore Stevi Large owns national marks in both the weight throw and shot put. She has an effort of 64-1 in the weight to rank first in the MAC and ninth nationally, while recording a distance of 52-8.25 in the shot to rank 11th nationally.
Other MAC-best performances by Akron student-athletes include Anthony Thomas in the 200m (21.47), Cadeau Kelley in the triple jump (49-1.75), Auston Papay in the shot put (57-6.25), Corine Gavin-Hall in the 200m (24.03) and Rachel Zubricky in both the 80m (2;13.06) and mile (4:58.16).
