The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Mid-American Conference Championships
MAC Track and Field Championships Up Next for Akron
May 11 | Track & Field
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MAC CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE OF EVENTS (PDF) | MAC CHAMPIONSHIP HEAT SHEETS (PDF) | LIVE RESULTS | MAC CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL
AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron men's and women's track and field team will join the rest of its Mid-American Conference members this Thursday through Saturday, May 12-14, to compete at the league's Outdoor Championships, hosted by the University of Toledo.
In all, the championship meet will feature men's teams from Akron, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Kent State, while all 12 league members will be gunning for the title on the women's side.
The Zips' men squad will be looking to capture its sixth outdoor league championship, having won five of the last eight league titles overall.
On the women's side, the Zips are seeking their second straight and seventh overall outdoor championship after capturing their first outdoor title since 2009 a season ago.
Akron under the leadership of 21st-year head coach Dennis Mitchell figures to be in the running for team titles on both the men's and women's sides again this year.
The Zips' men's squad is the highest-rated team in the conference checking in at No. 34 in the latest United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division I National Team Computer Rankings released on Monday, May 9. The Zips' women's team also headlines all league schools rating 45th in the latest poll.
"I feel good about our team this week," Mitchell commented. "We are ready to go. However, as usual there are a couple other teams out there that will make this a very tough competition. We are going to have to be at our very best."
Junior Clayton Murphy (New Paris, Ohio) is the lone returning champion for the Akron men's squad after winning top-honors in the 800- and 1,500-meters in 2015. The Zips also received a first-place performance a year ago from sophomore Jordan Latimer (Huber Heights, Ohio) in the long jump.
The Zips also garnered men's runner-up finishes from senior Brent Gray (Cincinnati, Ohio), sophomore Terrell McClain (Youngstown, Ohio), redshirt junior Mike Ohiembor (Dayton, Ohio), junior Matt Rowland (Bellevue, Ohio) and junior Dan Zupan (Berea, Ohio) in the 400 meters, long jump, triple jump, pole vault and 3,000-meter steeplechase, respectively.
In the women's field, seniors Claudia Garcia Jou (Barcelona, Spain) and Caroline Hasse (Potsdam, Germany) seek to defend their individual titles after winning the high jump and pole vault in 2015, while sophomore Jackie Siefring (Covington, Ohio) looks to improve upon her second-place finishes in the 400-meter hurdles and heptathlon.
The Zips' men's squad has seven athletes leading their respective events heading into the conference meet, including junior Phil Jagers (Solon, Ohio) in the discus (201-2), McClain in the long jump (26-1), Murphy in the 800 meters (1:46.71) and 1,500 meters (3:44.21), Ohiembor in the triple jump (51-4.25), Rowland in the pole vault (17-4.50), sophomore Kwadarrius Smith (Orlando, Fla.) in the 100 meters (10.40), freshman Cody Stine (Shelby, Ohio) in the high jump (7-0.50), and the 4x400 relay team (3:07.36) of junior Miles Baldwin (Cincinnati, Ohio), senior Sean Weems (Maple Heights, Ohio), Gray and Murphy.
On the women's side, six Akron student-athletes enter the meet as the top seed – including Garcia Jou in the high jump (6-1.50), Hasse in the pole vault (13-11.75), freshman Dara Perry (Akron, Ohio) in the 100-meter hurdles (13.66), redshirt junior Ariadna Ramos Gandia (Barcelona, Spain) in the triple jump (42-7.50), Siefring in the 400-meter hurdles (57.61), heptathlon (5,627) and long jump (20-5.25), and redshirt junior Natalie Zidd (Hinckley, Ohio) in the 800 meters (2:07.60).
Akron currently has seven student-athletes ranked in the top-25 nationally by the Track and Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS), including Garcia Jou, who owns the No. 3 mark nationally in the women's high jump (6-1.50).
Also rated among the top-25 are McClain (fourth in long jump/26-1), Jagers (sixth in discus/201-2), Hasse (20th in pole vault/13-11.75), Murphy (10th in the 800 meters/1:46.71), Siefring (14th in heptathlon/5,627 and 21st in 400M-hurdles/57.61) and Ramos Gandia (22nd in the triple jump/42-7.50).
The MAC meet begins at 10 a.m. at University of Toledo Outdoor Track and Field Facility in Toledo, Ohio, on Thursday, May 12, with the start of the women's hammer, followed by the commencement of the women's heptathlon and men's decathlon at 11:30 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively. The running events will begin at 7 p.m. with the women's 10,000 meters followed by the men's race at 7:45 p.m.
The second day opens with the conclusion of the multi-events with the 110-meter hurdles in the men's decathlon and the long jump as part of the women's heptathlon at 10 a.m., respectively. Field events begins with the women's shot put at 12:30 p.m., while the preliminary round of the women's 1,500 meters opens running events at 12 p.m. The men's 3,000-meter steeplechase closes out the day's action at 5 p.m.
The final day of the championship kicks off with the men's pole vault and women's discus and high jump at 10 a.m. The first running event is slated to begin at 1 p.m. with the women's 4x100 relay. For a complete schedule of events, log on to MAC-Sports.com. Live results will be available throughout the meet and posted here.
Scoring in the meet will be on a 10-8-6-5-4-3-2-1 basis for individual events and relays for the women. Men's scoring will be 10-8-6-4-2-1 for individual events and 10-8-6-4-2 for relays.
