Akron // 7th Annual Pole Vault Convention
AKRON, Ohio – University of Akron senior Lucy Bryan (Bristol, England) and former Zips' All-American Matt Ludwig captured titles in the elite pole vault competitions to headline the performances at the Seventh Annual Akron Pole Vault Convention on Saturday, Jan. 11, at Stile Athletics Field House.
Registering a 2020 world-leading mark of 18-4.50 (5.60m), Ludwig, a seven-time All-America award winner with the Zips from 2017-19, bested the men's field. He edged former Akron six-time All-America honoree Shawn Barber, who placed second with a mark of 17-10.50 (5.45m).
Senior Cole Wigal (Belpre, Ohio), participating as an unattached competitor, finished fourth surpassing 16-10.75 (5.15m).
Maintaining a No. 54 World Ranking, including No. 3 in her native Great Britain, Bryan, a five-time All-America honoree for the Zips, opened her final collegiate campaign registering the second-best mark, 14-1.25 (4.30m), in the NCAA this season en route to capturing the women's elite title.
Redshirt junior Abby Helminiak (Toledo, Ohio) placed second in the women's elite field with a season-opening mark of 13-5.25 (4.10m), the fifth-highest clearance in the NCAA in 2020.
In the men's 'A' flight competition, senior Tyler Fraker (Delta, Ohio) led the Zips' efforts finishing third with a clearance of 16-0 (4.88m). Following with career-best marks of 15-6.25 (4.73m) and 15-0.25 (4.58m) to finish fourth and sixth, respectively, was freshman Sebastian Martin (Santiago, Chile) and redshirt sophomore Raymond Kovalchick (Northfield, Ohio).
In the women's 'A' flight, freshman Rachael Ward (Jamestown, N.Y.) reccorded a career-best mark of 12-0.75 (3.68m) to place fifth.
Rounding out the Zips' performances on the day were freshman Robert Artrip (Independence, Ohio), redshirt freshman Bobby Casey (Mayfield Heights, Ohio), senior Malik Hudson (Cleveland, Ohio) and redshirt junior Brandon Hochbein (Sarver, Pa.). The quartet finished second, third, fourth and sixth, respectively, in the men's 'A2' flight with clearances of 15-0.25 (4.58m), 14-6.25 (4.43m), 14-6.25 (4.43m*) and 14-0.50 (4.28m).
Akron will officially commence its indoor campaign hosting Central Michigan in a dual meet at the Stile Athletics Field House on Friday, Jan. 17. Competition is slated to begin at 7 p.m.
Akron // Nittany Lion Challenge
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. – University of Akron senior Varvara Lissichkina (Karaganda, Kazahkstan) garnered a pair of strong performances to mark the debut of the 2020 Zips' track and field team at the Nittany Lion Challenge on Saturday, Jan. 11.
In her collegiate indoor debut for Akron, Lissichkina placed third in the women's 600-meter run in a time of 1:33.96.
She capped her efforts on the day crossing the line in 2:14.38 in the women's 800 meters to finish second.
The Zips will officially commence their indoor campaign hosting Central Michigan in a dual meet at the Stile Athletics Field House on Friday, Jan. 17. Competition is slated to begin at 7 p.m.
Ball State // Gene Edmonds Memorial Invite
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - - Senior sprinter Bryeana Byrdsong became the first Ball State track & field student athlete to turn in a MAC indoor championship automatic qualifying mark this season, as she led a strong effort on the opening day of the Gene Edmonds Memorial Invite.
One of three Cardinals to qualify for the semifinals of the 60m dash Friday evening at Purdue's Lambert Fieldhouse, Byrdsong improved from 13th in the opening round to fourth in the semifinals with a time of 7.58.
Her effort is currently the second-fastest in the MAC this season and earned her one of eight spots in Saturday's 12:30 p.m. finals race.
Ball State also had a pair of student-athlete qualify for Saturday's finals in the 60m hurdles (12:20 p.m.), as junior Anasja Troutman turned in the fifth-fastest qualifying time at 8.81, while redshirt freshman Kennedy Batts logged a career-fast 9.10 to earn the seventh seed.
Senior Megan Graves turned in another impressive effort in the weight throw Friday, taking fifth overall with a distance of 16.76m. Junior Princess Carter was not far behind, placing 10th at 15.26m
The busiest Cardinals of the day, however, were sophomore Karlie Zumbro and freshman Charity Griffith who placed seventh (3,068 points) and eighth (3,029 points), respectively, in the pentathlon.
Zumbro logged a career-best shot put distance of 8.96m and finished third among the 19 competitors in the 800m run at 2:31.45.
Griffith finished with career-bests in the 60m hurdles (9.75), shot put (8.37m) and long jump (5.10m). Her best event was the long jump, where she placed fourth among the 19 competitors.
The Cardinals close out competition in the Gene Edmonds Memorial Invite Saturday, with action slated to being at 10:30 a.m. with the women's shot put.
Bowling Green // Wolverine Invite
Ann Arbor, Mich. – Redshirt junior Kaila Butler posted a career-best in the weight throw, a mark that ranks among the top 20 in the country, as Bowling Green shook off the rust of a month off Saturday at the Wolverine Invitational. The meet was the Falcons' first of 2020 after opening the season in early December at home.
BUTLER IMPRESSES
UP NEXT
Bowling Green will host Toledo Friday for the annual dual meet between the two programs. The meet will begin at 5:00 pm at Perry Field House on BGSU's campus.
Buffalo // Wolverine Invite
ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The University at Buffalo track and field team had a great start to the new year as several student-athletes placed personal records with a few more automatic qualifiers for the MAC Championships.
On the men's side, Nakia Williams nailed a personal record and MAC mark by placing second with a height of 2.05m/6-08.75 in the high jump.
Jeremy Lissade ran a personal record in the 60m dash as he finished in second. (nice to beat U Miami and Michigan athletes!).
Shevaughn Allen hit the MAC automatic bid in the long jump with a distance of 7.31m/23-11.75 good for second place. It also marked a collegiate-best mark for him.
Sam Wray also improved his season-best MAC automatic bid in the weight throw with a distance of 19.04m/62-05.75.
Liam Hilbert ran nearly a 20 second personal-best as he placed second in the men's 3000m just missing the win by .33 seconds.
Caleb Covell won his heat of the mile uncontested, to a personal-record mark. In the finals he finished sixth in a time of 4:18.81.
The day was highlighted by David Wolanin, Elijah Kerner, Jeremy Lissade and Gyasi Morris as they on the 4x400 in a time of 3:18.34. The team narrowly beat MAC foe Eastern Michigan.
On the women's side, after missing last season with a torn ACL, Selina Von Jackowskistarted her season strong as she finished third in the 60m hurdles. Her time of 8.67 qualifies her for the MAC Championships.
Molly McCreedy nailed a 2' PR to place 2nd in SP, and she's continuing to get stronger.
Two women hit MAC automatic qualifiers in triple jump as Nisa Raqib finished first (12.45m/40-10.25) and Christina Wende finishing third (11.96m/39-03.00). Raqib's mark was a meet record.
"We saw improvements today from several student-athletes with a few more MAC automatic qualifiers," said Head Coach Vicki Mitchell. "We have a competitive group who is never satisfied," stated Head Coach Vicki Mitchell. "We need to continue to keep a high level of intensity at practice and at each competition as we continue to build towards the MAC Championships."
The Bulls are back in action on Saturday, Jan. 18 as they travel back to Youngstown, Ohio for the Youngstown Invite. The invite is set to begin at 1 p.m.
Central Michigan // Wolverine Invite
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. -- The Central Michigan indoor track & field team will compete in its first event of 2020 when they head to Ann Arbor on Saturday to compete in the Michigan Wolverine Invitational.
The meet will begin at 11 a.m. with the men's high jump and women's 60-meter hurdles. It is expected to conclude at approximately 4 p.m.
The Field
CMU will see a variety of schools at the meet, including Power-5 conference schools such as the host Wolverines, Michigan State and Miami (Fla.), along with some of its Mid-American Conference brethren such as Eastern Michigan, Akron and Buffalo.
The Miami women's team ranks No. 22 in the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association preseason poll.
Individual Rankings
Central Michigan's Nadia Williams is the top-ranked long jumper in the country. She set the program record, 21 feet 1 ¼ inch, before Christmas at the Grand Valley State Holiday Open.
CMU's Logan Targgart is ranked third in the country in the men's weight weight throw at 69-5 ¼. Quiara Wheeler is ranked No. 14 in the country in the women's weight throw with her program-record 64-4 ½.
Training
During the month in between meets, CMU has been training hard, and getting into shape to prepare for the season. The MAC Indoor Championships are scheduled for Feb. 28-29 at Akron.
"They came back on Jan. 2 to start practicing," said Jenny Swieton, CMU's director of track & field/cross country. "We've just been practicing, seeing where they're at, seeing where we can go with training, and getting ready to compete again."
Early Season Test
Saturday meet is the second of the season for the Chippewas, who will use it as an opportunity to gauge their progress.
"We just want people to go in and compete," Swieton said. "We want them to try to beat as many people as they can, regardless of who they are. The key is to get into that competition mode and get hungry for wins, defeating people, and getting that fire lit again."
Next
CMU will head to Akron to compete in a dual meet with MAC opponent Akron on Friday, Jan. 17.
Eastern Michigan Men // Wolverine Invite
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's track and field team captured a pair of individual titles at the Wolverine Invitational Saturday, Jan. 11, inside the U-M Indoor Track Building.
Junior Owen Richardson (Basingstoke, England-The Costello School) claimed first prize in the 200-meter dash with a time of 21.53 seconds, and was part of the 4x400-meter relay team that finished in second place with a 3:18.55 clip. Redshirt junior Boubacar Sallah-Mohamed (Arlington, Va.-Fishburne Military) also shined for the Eagles as he earned a podium place in two field events, winning the triple jump with a mark of 15.59 meters and ranking third in the long jump with a 7.24-meter leap.
EMU earned its first medal of the day in the 60-meter hurdles, as senior Devonte Findlay (Lauderhil, Fla.-Blanche Ely) secured the runner-up spot with a time of 8.02 seconds. Meanwhile, two freshmen finished in third place in their respective field events, with Chukwusom Enekwechi (Valley Stream N.Y.-Jamaica Gateway to the Sciences (Monroe College)) recordeing a 17.18-meter heave in the shot put, and fellow newcomer Kappa Bedoui (Doha Qatar (Aspire Academy)) ending the weight throw with a release of 19.79 meters.
Senior Sean Beckom II (Saginaw, Mich.-Heritage) qualified for the 60-meter dash final and placed fourth with a time of 6.95, while freshman Trent Barron (Flint, Mich.-Carman-Ainsworth) clinched fourth position in the 400-meter dash when he crossed the line in 50.51. From there, junior Derek Jones (Erie, Pa.-Cathedral Preparatory), sophomore Ronald Brandal (Huron, Ohio-Huron), and sophomore Joe Ingram (Cincinnati, Ohio-Anderson) notched fifth place in the 600-meter (1:21:01), 800-meter (1:59.11), and 3000-meter runs (8:51.61), respectively.
Eastern will return to competition Saturday, Jan. 25 as it hosts the Can-Am International at Bob Parks Track inside Bowen Field House.
Eastern Michgian Women // Wolverine Invite
ANN ARBOR, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University women's track and field team earned several top-five finishes at the Wolverine Invitational Saturday, Jan. 11, inside the U-M Indoor Track Building.
The Eagles were runners-up in two events at their first meet since the season-opening GVSU Holiday Open, Dec. 6, 2019. Redshirt senior co-captain Emily Smith (Somerset, England-Wells Cathedral School) finished in second place in the 3000-meter run with a time of 9:54.27, before the 4x400-meter relay team consisting of sophomore Mair Edwards (Basingstoke, England-The Costello School), junior Keypathwa Gibson (Toledo, Ohio-Roy C. Start), junior Abbey Zastrow (Arcadia, Wis.-Arcadia (University of Mary)), and sophomore Tiffany Cernej-Garcia (Ann Arbor, Mich.-Pioneer) earned second with a 3:47.84 mark.
Senior co-captain Brittni Mason (Richmond Heights, Ohio-West Geauga) was one of three EMU sprinters to qualify for the 60-meter dash, as she claimed fourth place at 7.62 seconds, while freshmen Hanna Hearn (Laurel, Miss.-Brebeuf Jesuit Prep (Ind.)) and Alyson Davis(Summerfield, N.C.-Weaver Academy for Performing and Visual Arts) finished fifth and sixth overall with times of 7.65 and 7.70, respectively.
The Eagles also shined in the field events, as junior Quintella Johnson (Las Vegas, Nev.-Saint Mary's (Texas Southern)) finished fourth in the high jump with a 1.70-meter leap, while sophomore Nina Ward (Fairfield, Ohio-Fairfield) placed fourth in the long jump with a mark of 5.54 meters. Additionally, junior Kadian Clarke (Kingston, Jamaica-Immaculate Conception), freshman Nya Lakin (Dacula, Ga.-Mill Creek), and junior Graysen Simmons (Huber Heights, Ohio-Wayne) ranked fifth in the weight throw (17.79 meters), triple jump (11.12 meters), and pole vault (3.55 meters), respectively.
The Green and White return to competition Friday, Jan. 18 as they head to University Center, Mich. for the Doug Hansen Open hosted by Saginaw Valley State University.
NIU // Hawkeye Invitational
IOWA CITY, Iowa – The Northern Illinois University women's track and field team won three events as the Huskies returned to action Saturday (Jan. 11) at the Hawkeye Invitational. Senior NeShay Curtis (St. Louis, Mo./McCluer South Berkeley) took top spot in the 400-meter dash, junior Nora Finegan (Palatine, Ill./Fremd) was first in the 1,000-meter run and sophomore Diamond Riley (St. Louis, Mo./Ritenour) earned first-place in the triple jump.
"Coming back off a three-to-four-week break, training for less than a week, and competing is always tough," said NIU Director of Track and Field Connie Teaberry. "However, our talented athletes always amaze me with how they handle it with poise, confidence and realization. At this point, the staff just want to see effort and mental toughness and every athlete that competed did not disappoint.
"The times, jumps and throws will all improve as they see the training process unfold. But the desire to be the best has to come from the heart and that's what they left on the Iowa track. We will continue putting the pieces together as they move their positions up on the MAC list. The staff is looking forward to an awesome season with these student-athletes and what they will accomplish."
Riley won the triple jump with a best mark of 12.15m (39-10.50), a MAC automatic qualifying mark and the third best in the conference this season. Riley's top mark, set on her third jump of the competition, was a half-meter better than second place Amelia Peterson of Western Illinois (11.66m)
In the 400 meters, Curtis ran a winning time of 59.73 seconds, just four one-hundredths of a second ahead of Western Illinois' Sierra Long (59.79) who finished second.
The 1,000 meters was dominated by the Huskies as NIU took the top four spots, led by Finegan's first-place finish in 2:56.74. Junior Victoria Robinson (Lansing, Kan./Kansas State) claimed second in 2:57.91, senior Melissa Ricci (Erie, Pa./Villa Maria Academy) was third with a time of 2:59.93 while junior Meagan Biddle (Hoffman Estates, Ill./Illinois State) was fourth in 3:03.72
Elsewhere, senior Remy Amarteifio (Evanston, Ill./Evanston Township) ran the second-fastest time in the MAC in the 60-meter hurdles at 8.72 in the preliminary round before taking second in the final with a time of 8.74 seconds.
Next Saturday (Jan. 17), the Huskies will head to Allendale, Mich., to compete in the GVSU Open.
Ohio // Marshall Women's Classic
HUNTINGTON, W. Va. -- The Ohio track and field team resumed its 2019-20 indoor season this afternoon at the Marshall Women's Classic at the Jeff Small Track at the Chris Cline Athletics Complex, finishing third with 118 points.
Host Marshall won the event with 201 points while James Madison took second with 194 points. The Bobcats finished ahead of Morehead State, which totaled 14 points.
Ohio tallied four first-place finishes, with junior Abby Moore (Rootstown, Ohio) accounting for two of them by taking the top spot in both the weight throw (18.02 meters) and shot put (13.63 meters). Moore helped the Bobcats occupy four of the top-five places in the weight throw, as redshirt sophomore Emma Russ (Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio) placed third (14.46 meters), sophomore Autumn Mohan (Chillicothe, Ohio) took fourth (13.95 meters) and sophomore Rachel Simpson (Port Clinton, Ohio) finished fifth (12.69 meters). Mohan also placed fourth in the shot put with a toss of 12.55 meters.
The Bobcats' two other first-place finishes came on the track, with senior Ashleigh Kitrell (Oakland, Neb.) winning the 400-meter run in 56.56 and redshirt senior Madison Sury (Waterford, Ohio) taking the top spot in the 3000-meter run with a time of 10:10.24. Redshirt senior Melissa Koziol (Burton, Ohio) joined Sury in the top five in the 3000, placing fifth in 10:42.87.
Senior Tajah Haley (Washington, Pa.) turned in a third-place finish in the high jump with a mark of 1.52 meters.
The Bobcats will be back in action next Friday (Jan. 17) at the YSU Invitational in Youngstown, Ohio.
Toledo // Wolverine Invite
ANN ARBOR, Mich. - The University of Toledo women's track and field team opened the indoor season at Michigan's Wolverine Invitational in Ann Arbor, Mich., posting a total of four top-five finishes and 10 personal bests on the day.
"It was a very solid day for the program overall," said head coach Andrea Grove-McDonough. "The highlights were Raynesha Lewis in the long jump, our lone event winner of the day and Stephanie Sherman with a big 12-second personal best in her event to place third. There's lots of work to do to be where we want to be by championship season, but we saw some things we can build on from here."
Lewis clinched first in the long jump with a leap of 5.70m. Senior Yana Khabina took seventh in the long jump with a distance of 5.20m. Also in the jumps category, junior Janell Rowe placed fourth in the triple jump with a mark of 11.79m.
On the track Sherman clocked a personal-best of 9:58.07 in the 3000-meters, placing third with freshman Emily Vining following close behind to take fifth (10:09.16 **PR**). Sophomore Claire Steigerwald placed ninth in the mile, stopping the clock at 5:11.60.
Up Next
The Rockets travel to Bowling Green for the BGSU Dual Meet on Jan. 17. Field Events are scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m. with running events beginning at 6:00 p.m.
Western Michigan // Brown v. Gold Intersquad
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan track and field team kicked off the 2020 indoor season with an intrasquad meet at University Arena on Saturday. The Brown team defeated the Gold team 70-64 on the day.
WMU also named its captains for the season with the team voting Haley Ritsema, Rebecca Hall, Juliane Sormain, Erin Dowd, Riley Wilhelwm and Erica Sheahan to lead them this season. Ritsema, Hall and Sormain also served as captains during the cross country season.
"First and foremost, their work ethic speaks for themselves," said head coach Makiba Batten on the six captains. "It was a unanimous vote by our team. They get on the track and they get it done. The group is also good at pulling their teammates up to help them step up their game in practices and competition."
Sheahan had one of the standout performances on the day in the long jump. She reached a distance of 19 feet, 2 inches (5.84 meters). It took the senior four meets to break 19 feet last season.
"We got some good feedback from our student-athletes today," added Batten. "The energy was great and it was very well put together. A lot of our athletes improved marks from the beginning of the last indoor season and I think our assistant coaches did a phenomenal job coaching them up and being able to see what we need to coach them up on. Our student-athletes showed today and they looked like a team."
The season continues on next week as Western Michigan heads to Youngstown State University next Saturday for the YSU Collegiate Invitational.
