Ferguson Headlines UA's Strong Finish at Penn State National

January 29 | Track & Field

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. - Junior Phil Ferguson ran a blistering time of 21.32 in the 200 and a host of other Zips posted PRs to highlight The University of Akron track and field team's second and final day of competition at the Penn State National Saturday at the Horace Ashenfelter III Indoor Track.

Ferguson's blazing time was good for second place overall in the event as Penn State freshman Bardy Gehret barely edged the reigning Mid-American Conference Track Athlete of the Week by just one-hundredth of a second with a winning time of 21.31. Ferguson, who matched a PR in the 200 with a time of 21.23 last weekend at the All-Ohio Indoor Track and Field Championships, now owns the top two times in the MAC. The native of Copley, Ohio, entered the week ranked 18th in the nation for the 200.

A host of Zips also enjoyed turned in career performances, including senior distance runners Kim Lorentz and Cassie Schenck, who each posted PRs in the women's 3000 for the second consecutive week. Lorentz finished seventh with a time of 9:43.68 - more than four seconds faster than her previous best mark (9:46.47) recorded at the All-Ohio Championships - while Schenck finished just behind in eighth place with a time of 9:45.90.

After jumping 50-2.5 at the Kent Duals at the Stile Athletics Field House earlier this month, senior Collister Fahie topped that mark Saturday to record a PR with a leap of 50-04.75 in the triple jump, which was good for fourth place. Senior transfer Max Hiltner rounded out the Zips' top performers with a time of 4:10.73 in the mile, which represented a PR in indoor competition.

"I thought it was a very solid performance today - especially on the men's side," said UA women's distance and cross country head coach Scott Jones. "It's early in the season and we are still a work in progress. We certainly have some aspects to work on, but we are happy with the strides we've made so far with the MAC Championship just a few weeks away."

Akron's relay team of sophomore Zachary Goulet, freshman Gabriel Genovesi, junior Joe McCoy and senior Max Hiltner won the 4x800 with a time of 7:39.73 while the tandem of senior KC LaCross, Ferguson, sophomore Willie Brown and sophomore J'Lani Pryce threatened the break the school record in the 4x400 with a time 3:14.30, which was fourth-best on the day and less than a second shy of the program's all-time mark (3:13.33).

After winning the high jump at the Akron Opener and the Kent Duals, senior Mike McCall finished second Saturday after clearing 6-10.75. Penn State's Bryson Hartzler won the event with a jump of 7-00.25. The Zips also received strong efforts from their sprinters as LaCross took third in the 400 with a time of 48.57 and Brown finished fourth in the 800 after crossing the line in 1:51.21.

Sophomore Nick Banke was UA's top thrower on the day with a toss of 57-02.25, which landed him in seventh place for the shot put.

After spending the last two weekends on the road, the Zips will have a week off before hosting the Akron Invitational at the Stile Athletics Field House from Feb. 11-12.