The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Track 1st-t; Women 3rd After Day 1 at All-Ohio
April 17 | Track & Field
ATHENS - The University of Akron men's track and field program is tied with Cincinnati with 42 points after the first day of competition at the annual All-Ohio Championships, hosted by Ohio University. The UA women are third with 37 points, trailing leader Dayton by five.
The Zips scored 19 points in the first event, the women's long jump. Brittany Cheese won the event with a leap of 19-0, which Is nearly a foot better than her previous best of the season. Niesha Kelly placed third (18-2.25), while Katherine Lee was sixth (17-8).
Junior Collister Fahie gave UA the sweep in the long jump, winning the men's side with a leap of 24-4.25. Daryl Baptiste placed sixth (21-0.50).
Akron's women tacked on 18 more points in two field events. First, junior Valerie Wert placed second in the hammer with a throw of 189-1. Then, senior Lauren Whitehill won her first All-Ohio title with a throw of 142-7 in the javelin. In the men's javelin, Tyler Sweet was runner-up with a mark of 208-5, while Nick Erdesky scored with a seventh-place finish (167-7).
In the men's pole vault, Akron went 1-2 as All-American Mike Uhle and Kenny Owens each cleared 16-2.75 with Uhle getting the title based on previous misses. The men capped their scoring as Nick Stroemple placed eighth in the 5,000 meters with a time of 14:58.7.
The Zips will wrap up competition at the All-Ohio Championships Saturday.
