The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
MAC Outdoor Championships
Men's Track Completes Conference Sweep At MAC Outdoor Championship
May 12 | Track & Field
2012 MAC Outdoor Championships Award Winners (HTML)
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The University of Akron men's track and field team claimed its second straight Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championship and its fourth consecutive league team title overall Saturday at Lyle Bennett Outdoor Track.
It is the second straight year the Zips have sweept the league's indoor and outdoor championships after doing so for the first time in school history in 2011. UA, which started the day with a 36-point lead over the rest of the conference, jumped out to a big lead Thursday and rode the momentum all weekend.
Unlike Akron wins in the past, however, this year's MAC Championship was not dominated by a large number of winning performances. Instead, it was a true team effort highlighted by several solid contributions that pushed the Zips to the wire-to-wire victory.
As a team, the Zips' men captured four event titles and an equal amount of runner-up finishes to total 171 points and hold off Kent State (148), Central Michigan (136), Eastern Michigan (128), Buffalo (118) and Miami (110).
For the team's achievements, Akron head coach Dennis Mitchell was named MAC Men's Outdoor Coach of the Year for the second straight season. The long-time Zips' coach has now earned league coaching honors 16 times – including eight for the outdoor season – during his 17-year career at UA.
Conversely, the women's day was highlighted by a number of huge individual performances.
At the top of the list was freshman Alexis Cooks, who was named MAC Women's Most Outstanding Field Performer after winning the discus with a school-record throw of 179-10. The mark shattered the previous standard of 176-06, originally set by Valerie Fraizer (Wert) in 2010, and won the event by more than 22 feet.
In all, Cooks scored in three events at the championship meet. The Colorado-native also placed eighth in the hammer throw Thursday (167-03) and took third in the shot put Friday (49-10.50).
Also grabbing the spotlight was the pole vault duo of sophomore Ariane Beaumont-Courteau and freshman Claire Lucas, who swept the top two spots. Beaumont-Courteau took the event title with a jump of 13-04.50 while Lucas achieved a personal record with a clearance of 12-08.25.
Another top performer on the day was junior Brittany Cheese, who came fractions of a second shy of breaking the school record in the 100-meter hurdles. Cheese finished third overall despite crossing the line in 13.78, which is second only to Jessica Bright's all-time mark of 13.75, set in 2007.
As a team, the Zips' women finished seventh with 68.50 points. Kent State, which won the 2012 MAC Indoor Championship, completed a season sweep of its own by taking the outdoor title with 134.33 points in a tight finish with Toledo, which finish with 132 points.
The Akron men's team built up a sizeable heading into Saturday's action but saw it shrink quickly as Kent State closed the gap with a 2-3-4 finish in the triple jump. But the Zips bounced back by picking up 12 points from their 1,500-meters group, comprised of Brad Hough (3:51.28), Zachary Goulet (3:51.52) and Nick Stroemple (3:51.73), who finished 4-5-6, respectively, and never looked back. Both Goulet's and Stroemple's marks represented personal bests.
Another big event for the Zips Saturday was the men's high jump, which saw Jakob Leon tie for second with a personal-record clearance of 6-09.50 and Martel Durant grab fifth place with an impressive mark of 6-08.00.
Additionally, it was a big day for Dominique Watson, who tallied 11 team points with a third-place finish in the 100-meters (10.65) and a fourth-place finish in the 200-meters (21.47). Also medaling was Gabriel Genovesi, who took third in the 800-meters (1:52.03), and J'Lani Pryce, who did the same in the 400-meter hurdles (52.83).
In all, it has been an exceptional turnaround for the men's team, which had 13 straight seasons (1993-2005) of finishing no better than fifth at the outdoor championship. Since 2006, the Zips' men have finished third or better each year while winning four of the last five team titles (including a runner-up finish in 2010) overall.
Updating the PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge the Zips currently trail arch rival Kent State, 8.0 to 6.0.
RESULTS – MAC Outdoor Championships
May 12, 2012 | Central Michigan University | Lyle Bennett Outdoor Track | Mount Pleasant, Mich.
TEAM SCORES
Men's Teams (Final: through 21 events)
1. Akron (171), 2. Kent State (148), 3. Central Michigan (136), 4. Eastern Michigan (128), 5. Buffalo (118), 6. Miami (110).
Women's Teams (Final: through 21 events)
1. Kent State (134.33), 2. Toledo (132), 3. Western Michigan (108), 4. Miami (82), 5. Eastern Michigan (78.33), 6. Buffalo (72), 7. Akron (68.50), 8. Northern Illinois (55.33), 9. Central Michigan (48), 10. Ball State (22), 11. Ohio (17.50), 12. Bowling Green (1).
INDIVIDUAL RESULTS
Men's Finals
100m: 3. Dominique Watson, 10.65 (6 points); 200m: 4. Dominique Watson, 21.47 (5); 400m: 5. Nick Owens, 48.53 (4); 800m: 3. Gabriel Genovesi, 1:52.03 (6); 1,500m: 4. Brad Hough, 3:51.28 (5), 5. Zachary Goulet, 3:51.52 (4), 6. Nick Stroemple, 3:51.73 (3); 5,000m: 4. Andy Knapp, 15:15.90 (5), 7. Brad Hough, 15:19.76 (2); 400 Hurdles: 3. J'Lani Pryce, 52.83 (6); High Jump: t-2. Jakob Leon, 6-09.50 (7), 5. Martel Durant, 6-08.00 (4), 9. John Dahlstrand, 6-06.00; Triple Jump: 8. John Dahlstrand, 46-05.50 (1), 9. Daryl Baptiste, 46-05.25; Discus: 4. Nick Banke, 176-03 (5); 4x100 Relay: 5. Akron A (Waller, Pryce, Spann, Watson), 41.64.
Women's Finals
1,500m: 10. Kayla Whitlow, 4:44.93; 100 Hurdles: 3. Brittany Cheese, 13.78 (6); High Jump: t-5. Gabriela Szkolnicka, 5-5.75 (3.5); Pole Vault: 1. Ariane Beaumont-Courteau, 13-04.50 (10), 2. Claire Lucas, 12-08.25 (8); Triple Jump: 8. Iyisha Weaver, 39-01.75 (1); Discus: 1. Alexis Cooks, 179-10 (10), 9. Aliyah Cotton, 147-05, 12. Brittany Funk, 135-02; 4x100 Relay: 8. Akron A (Cherry, Steele, Cheese, Christian), 47.10.
