The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
MAC Indoor Track and Field Championships
Akron Primed for MAC Track and Field Championships
February 23 | Track & Field
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MAC TRACK AND FIELD CHAMPIONSHIP CENTRAL | ACCEPTED ENTRIES (PDF) | LIVE STATS
AKRON, Ohio - The University of Akron men's and women's track and field team will join the rest of their Mid-American Conference members this Friday and Saturday, Feb. 24-25, to compete at the league's Indoor Championships, as Eastern Michigan hosts the two-day event at Bowen Field House in Ypsilanti, Mich.
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.
Live stats of the MAC Championships will be available at GoZips.com.
The Zips' men squad has won five of the last six indoor team titles and nine of the last 12 MAC championships overall, and will be looking to capture their fourth consecutive indoor title.
On the women's side, the Zips are seeking their sixth indoor championship and first since 2009. Akron narrowly missed earning the crown last year falling one point shy of eventual champion Eastern Michigan.
Akron under the leadership of 22nd-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 and women's squad own No. 34 and No. 36 national rankings, respectively, in the latest United States Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association (USTFCCCA) NCAA Division I National Team Computer Rankings released on Monday, Feb. 20. Both marks are tops in the MAC.
Additionally, the Akron men's and women's squads finished the indoor campaign ranked 11th and 13th, respectively, in the final men's and women's collegiate dual meet rankings of 2017, as compiled by Jesse Squire for Track and Field News.
"It is Big MAC weekend," Mitchell commented. "This is what we train for as a team. The entries are in, the basic strategy is set, and both the men's and women's teams are looking strong. We know that the other programs are going to compete tough and it will be a challenge taking on Eastern Michigan on their home turf. It should be an exciting MAC Championship."
The men have five student-athletes seeking to repeat as conference champions this season led by senior Matt Rowland (Bellevue, Ohio), who captured the men's pole vault title eclipsing 17-0.75 (5.20m).
Additionally, two members of the winning 4x400 relay return in senior Miles Baldwin (Cincinnati, Ohio) and redshirt junior Taron Slone (Columbus, Ohio) as well as three runners for the victorious distance medley relay in junior Garrett Crichlow (Twinsburg, Ohio), Slone and senior Dan Zupan (Berea, Ohio) are back to defend their titles.
In the women's field, senior Ariadna Ramos Gandia (Barcelona, Spain), junior Jackie Siefring (Covington, Ohio) and senior Natalie Zidd (Hinckley, Ohio) are the defending champions in the triple jump (42-3.25/12.88m), pentathlon (4,215) and 800 meters (2:07.89), respectively.
The Zips men have six athletes and two relay squads leading their respective events heading into the conference meet, including senior Hakeem Lawrence (Miami, Fla.) in the 60 meters (6.72), senior Sean Poholski (Barberton, Ohio) in the 800 meters (1:51.82), sophomores Curtis Richardson (Blacklick, Ohio) and Cody Stine (Shelby, Ohio) in the high jump (7-1/2.16m), sophomore Matt Ludwig (Chardon, Ohio) in the pole vault (18-1/5.51m) and junior Terrell McClain (Youngstown, Ohio) in the long jump (25-10.75/7.89m).
On the women's side, five Akron student-athletes across six events enter the meet as the top seed – including senior Nikki Manson (Glascow, Scotland) in the high jump (6-0.50/1.84m), freshman Lucy Bryan (Bristol, England) in the pole vault (14-2.50/4.33m), senior Daniella Johnson (Gahanna, Ohio) in the long jump (20-8/6.30m), Ramos Gandia in the triple jump (41-7.25/12.68m) and Siefring in the pentathlon (4,204).
The Zips have five men and four women ranked among the top-25 nationally in their respective events in the latest Track and Field Results Reporting System (TFRRS) ratings released this week.
McClain leads Akron's efforts owning the fourth-best mark (25-10.75) in the men's long jump, while Siefring maintains the fifth-best mark in the country in the pentathlon (4,204)
Other top-25 performances include; Ludwig – 7th in the men's pole vault (18-0.50); Bryan – 7th in the women's pole vault (14-2.50/4.33m); Manson – 12th in the women's high jump (6-0.50); Johnson – 18th in the women's long jump (20-8/6.30m); Richardson – 22nd in the men's high jump (7-1); Stine – 22nd in the men's high jump (7-1); and senior Mike Ohiembor (Dayton, Ohio) – 23rd in the men's triple jump (51-5.50m).
The MAC meet begins at 10 a.m. at Bowen Field House on Friday, Feb. 24, with the start of the women's pentathlon and women's shot put, followed by the commencement of the men's heptathlon shortly after at 10:30 a.m. The running events will begin at 2 p.m. with the women's 60-meter hurdle prelims. The men's DMR is the final running event scheduled for the day and will start at 5:45 p.m.
The second and final day opens with the conclusion of the multi-events at 10 a.m. The first running event is slated to begin at 1:30 p.m. with the women's mile. For a complete schedule of events, log on to MAC-Sports.com. Live results will be available throughout the meet at GoZips.com.
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.
Players Mentioned
