Zips to Compete for MAC Outdoor Championships in DeKalb

May 11 | Track & Field

2011 MAC Outdoor Championships Central
MAC Outdoor Championships Heat Sheets (PDF)
MAC Outdoor Championships Schedule of Events (PDF)
MAC Outdoor Championships Live Stats Link

AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron track and field teams will travel to DeKalb, Ill., to compete in the Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championships, hosted by Northern Illinois University at Huskie Stadium, starting Thursday morning and continuing through Sunday.

The Zips men, who captured the league's indoor crown last February, will be looking to win their third outdoor title in four seasons, while the women are in search of their fifth outdoor championship in six years. The event begins at 11 a.m. (ET) Thursday and continues at 12 p.m. (ET) on Friday and Saturday.

Akron won seven individual league crowns at last year's MAC Outdoor Championships and return five athletes who won six of those titles. Two returners, the 2010 MAC Most Valuable Male Track Performance winner Phil Ferguson and All-American pole vaulter Mike Uhle have been limited by injuries this spring however, and are not expected to compete this weekend.

Senior Valerie Wert, an All-American in the hammer throw last season, is the league's defending champion in the women's hammer and discus. Fellow seniors Mike McCall has won the last two outdoor high jump titles – and last five MAC high jump titles overall – while Collister Fahie captured his first MAC long jump title in 2010.

Last season, the UA men finished runner-up to Eastern Michigan, which has won a league-record 21 championships since 1974. Conversely, the Zips women finished runner-up to Kent State, which claimed its third team title and first since 2005.

Akron has athletes who hold the top mark in the MAC in eight events, including Willie Brown (men's 800; 1:48.13), Brittany Cheese (women's 100 hurdles; 13.93), Collister Fahie (men's long jump; 25-11.50), Max Hiltner (men's 1500; 3:47.23), Joe McCoy (men's steeplechase; 9:00.22), Tyshaun Peoples (men's 110 hurdles; 13.96), Tyler Sweet (men's javelin; 214-06) and Uhle (men's pole vault, 17-00.75).

The Zips men won their first MAC outdoor championship in 2008 and repeated in 2009. The women have won five outdoor titles, which is second in the league only to EMU's 11, including four straight from 2006-09.

For more information, visit the MAC's 2011 Outdoor Championships Central Page.