The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Kent Dual
Track Splits Dual Meet at Kent State
January 20 | Track & Field
KENT, Ohio - The University of Akron track and field team split its dual meet at Kent State Friday night with the men earning an 80-71 victory behind eight first-place finishes and a host of outstanding individual performances.
Despite a pair of superb marks from Valerie Fraizer (Wert) and Ariane Beaumont-Courteau, the Zips' women were defeated by the Golden Flashes, 91-59. For the men, it was UA's third straight victory over KSU in dual-meet scoring.
Sophomore Brad Hough had a big night for the Zips' men, finishing first in the 3,000-meters with the third-fastest time in school history (8:28.64) and taking second in the mile (4:11.30). It was the second straight week the Pennsylvania-native has won the 3K after doing so with a time of 8:28.75 at the Akron Opener.
In all, the men were fueled by dominating combo performances in four events, finishing 1-2 in the 800-meters, mile, long jump and pole vault.
School-record holder Willie Brown (1:52.39) and Gabriel Genovesi (1:52.94) crossed the line within an eyelash of each other to take the top two spots in the 800m for the second consecutive weekend while Nick Stroemple shaved more than 10 full seconds off his personal best in the mile to win the event with the fifth-fastest time in school history (4:10.69).
Continuing the trend, Daryl Baptiste (24-00.75) and Darien Spann (23-05.25) went 1-2 in the long jump and Shawn Light (16-06.75) and Dan Garrett (16-06.75) did the same in the pole vault. Light's clearance was nearly a foot better than his previous personal best (15-07.00) established last February.
The Zips' throwing duo of Nick Banke (shot put) and Eric Hubbard (weight) rounded out the list of individual winners on the men's side. Banke was an easy winner with a throw of 57-00.00 while Hubbard recorded the top toss in his event for the second straight week with a throw of 62-01.25. The men's 4x400 relay team of J'Lani Pryce, Brown, Nick Owens and Genovesi also came in first with a collective time of 3:16.13.
After recording the second-best mark in school history last weekend at the Akron Opener, Wert was at it again Friday in winning the weight throw with a toss of 64-10.00. The throw, which won the event by more than three feet, ranks third on the school's all-time list.
It was Beaumont-Courteau's night to shine as well as the sophomore won the pole vault with a clearance of 13-05.25. The mark matched her personal record from last season and currently stands as fourth-best vault in school history.
Also capturing first-place finishes on the women's side were sophomore Alex Bowers, who won the 3K with a time of 10:26.01, junior Amanda Bennett, who won the high jump with a clearance of 5-05.00, and junior Brittany Cheese, who won the long jump with a leap of 18-03.25.
The Zips' men's and women's team will be in action once again on Saturday, Jan. 28, at the Mark Colligan Memorial, hosted by the University of Nebraska.
RESULTS – KENT DUAL
Jan. 20, 2012 | Kent State University | Kent State Field House | Kent, Ohio
MEN'S INDIVIDUAL SCORING
60m: 2. Dominique Watson, 6.84 (3), 5. Manley Waller, 7.04 (1), 6. Nate Chronister, 7.46, 8. D.J. Williamson, 8.12; 200m: 2. Dominique Watson, 22.25 (3), 3. Rufas Walls, 22.48 (2), 6. Manley Waller, 22.56, 9. Kyle Walker, 23.11; 400m: 3. J'Lani Pryce, 49.15 (2), 4. Nick Owens, 49.24 (1), 6. Sean Weems, 50.20, 8. Jake Hiltner, 51.85; 800m: 1. Willie Brown, 1:52.39 (5), 2. Gabriel Genovesi, 1:52.94 (3), 6. James Gnecco, 1:54.02, Nick Stroemple, 1:56.97; Mile: 1. Nick Stroemple, 4:10.69 (5), 2. Brad Hough, 4:11.30 (3), 5. Zachary Goulet, 4:14.19, 6. Joe McCoy, 4:14.57, 7. Andy Knapp, 4:22.13; 3,000m: 1. Brad Hough, 8:28.64 (5), 3. Kyle Cochrun, 8:34.78 (2), 7. Joe McCoy, 8:49,44, 8. Brian Cull, 8:51.55; 60m Hurdles: 2. Kyle Walker, 8.34 (3), 5. Alex McCune, 8.55 (1), 6. Bryan Jones, 8.69; 4x400 Relay: 1. Akron A, 3:16.13 (5), 3. Akron B, 3:31.06; High Jump: 4. Caden Johnson, 6-06.75 (2), 5. Martel Durant, 6-06.75 (1), 7. John Dahlstrand, 6-04.75, 8. Jakob Leon, 6-04.75; Pole Vault: 1. Shawn Light, 16-06.75 (5), 2. Dan Garrett, 16-06.75 (3), 5. Bryan Jones, 14-07.25, 5. Alex McCune, 14-07.25; Long Jump: 1. Daryl Baptiste, 24-00.75 (5), 2. Darien Spann, 23-05.25 (3), 3. Bryan Jones, 23-00.50, 5. Nate Chronister, 22-07.00; Triple Jump: 2. John Dahlstrand, 45-08.00 (3), 5. Darien Spann, 43-09.75; Shot Put: 1. Nick Banke, 57-00.00 (5), 5. Bo Zeigler, 48-10.75 (1), 6. Jordan Paul, 46-04.75; Weight Throw: 1. Eric Hubbard, 62-01.25 (5), 4. Nick Banke, 58-04.50 (1), 5. Jordan Paul, 54-02.50, 7. Bo Zeigler, 52-05.25;
WOMEN'S INDIVIDUAL SCORING
60m: 4. Rachel Christian, 7.90 (2), Meghan Cherry, 7.98 (1); 200m: 3. Rachel Christian, 25.42 (2), 8. Meghan Cherry, 26.77 (1), 9. Tiffany Caldwell, 26.81, 10. Julia D'Agostino, 27.22, 11. Melonie Wright, 27.46; 400m: 6. Tiffany Caldwell, 1:00.90 (2), 7. Melonie Wright, 1:01.70 (1), 8. Julia D'Agostino, 1:02.17; 800m: 2. Kayla Whitlow, 2:16.31 (3), 4. Skyler Willis, 2:21.52 (1); Mile: 3. Alex Bowers, 5:09.62 (2), 4. Kayla Whitlow, 5:13.37 (1); 3,000m: 1. Alex Bowers, 10:26.01 (5), 4. Morgan Willis, 10:51.33 (1); 60m Hurdles: 3. Brittany Cheese, 9.09 (2), 4. Skyler Willis, 9.16 (1); 4x400 Relay: 2. Akron A, 4:08.77 (3); High Jump: 1. Amanda Bennett, 5-05.00 (5), 3. Britt Reid, 5-03.00 (2), 5. Brandy Kelley, 5-01.00; Pole Vault: 1. Ariane Beaumont-Courteau, 13-05.25 (5), 4. Claire Lucas, 11-11.75 (1), t-5. Alexandra Wood, 11-05.75, 7. Chelsey Detwiler, 11-05.75, 9. Briana Krieger, 10-11.75; Long Jump: 1. Brittany Cheese, 18-03.25 (5), 4. Iyisha Weaver, 16-11.50 (1); Triple Jump: 3. Skyler Willis, 35-05.75 (2); Shot Put: 3. Aliyah Cotton, 45-11.25 (2), 4. Brittany Funk, 40-09.00 (1); Weight Throw: 1. Valerie Fraizer (Wert), 64-10.00 (5), 3. Brittany Funk, 57-11.75 (2), 5. Emily Suciu, 52-00.00, 7. Carley Ballow, 49-11.25;
