Eagles Lead After Day One of MAC Indoor Championships

Day One Results

AKRON, Ohio (EMUEagles.com) – With the first day of competition in the books, the Eastern Michigan University men's track and field team holds a commanding lead with 54 points at the Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships, Feb. 26. The Eagles currently hold a 27-point lead on second-place Akron (27) and Central Michigan (27), while Kent State sits in fourth (25) and Buffalo rounds out the group in fifth (21).

Eastern had two athletes run in the 60m, with freshman Aitor Ekobo (Madrid, Spain - Jose Luis Lopez Aranguren Secondary School) narrowly missing qualifying to the finals with a time of 6.94. Also participating in the event was senior Wayne Blanchard (Toledo, Ohio - St. Francis De Sales), who clocked in at 7.05. EMU found more success in the 200m dash, where junior Tyler Brown (Findlay, Ohio – Findlay) qualified to the finals by finishing third with a time of 21.40. Senior Matthew Williams (Moreno Valley, Calif. – Vista Del Lago) also ran in the event, finishing with a time of 22.00.

A trio of runners ran in the 400m dash, with Brown once again being the top EMU finisher. The junior clocked in at 48.00, putting him in seventh and qualifying him into the finals. Also running was seniors Jeff Elam (Latrobe, Pa. – Grater Latrobe Senior) and Mason Waynes (Kenosha, Wis. – Bradford) in the ninth and tenth spots, respectively. Elam posted a time of 48.16, while Waynes was just behind him at 48.24

Eastern dominated in the 5000m, with the Eagles sweeping the podium and taking home the top three spots. Redshirt junior Willy Fink (Maumee, Ohio – Maumee) was the first to cross the finish line, clocking in at 14:32.74 to take the crown and repeat as champion. Less than a second behind him, redshirt sophomore Hlynur Andresson (Vestmannaeyjar, Iceland - Mountain Ridge) finished with a time of 14:33.15. Finally, redshirt sophomore Lahsene Bouchikhi (Antwerp, Belgium / Stedelijk Lyceum Paardenmarkt Luchthaven) took the bronze with a time of 14:39.55 to complete the sweep.

Moving to the 60m hurdles prelims, redshirt senior Solomon Simmons (Murrieta, Calif. – Murrieta Valley) qualified for the finals in the third spot with a time of 8.16. Freshman Frank Douglas (Mansfield, Ohio - Madison Comprehensive) crossed the finish line just behind Simmons in 8.19, which was good for fourth. The final EMU student-athlete in the event was senior Bryce Lindsey (New Middletown, Ohio - Fairfield Senior), who finished 10th in 8.23. The distance medley group of sophomores Mark Cooke (Edison, N.J. – John P. Stevens) and Nick McFarland (Hillsborough, N.J. – Hillsborough), senior Scott Bradley (Battle Creek, Mich. – Lakeview), and graduate student Josh Sabo (Akron, Ohio – Revere), brought home hardware for the Green and White, taking third with a time of 9:50.54, just about five seconds behind the winners from Akron.

Eastern grabbed another event crown in the long jump, with Brown earning top-honors with a personal-best mark of 7.61 meters/ 24 feet 11.75-inches. His jump was also one of the best in EMU history, as the junior now holds the second-best jump all-time. A pair of freshman also participated in the event, with Cameron Hart (Columbus, Ohio – Bishop Hartley) and Nick Herbert (Portage, Mich. – Portage Northern) finishing ninth and 10^th, respectively, with marks of 7.05 meters/ 23 feet 1.75-inches and 6.93 meters/ 22 feet 9-inches. Hart managed to set a career-best on the day as well.

The success continued over to the weight throw, where redshirt junior Anthony Jones (Sandusky, Ohio – Sandusky) was crowned the champion with a throw of 21.48 meters/ 70 feet 5.75-inches. Jones was the first weight throw champion for the Eagles since 1998. Also finishing in the top-five was redshirt senior Keith Williams (Sherman, Ill. – Williamsville), posting a mark of 20.28 meters/ 66 feet 6.50-inches for a new personal best. Additionally, sophomore Elijah Albert-Grayer (Canton, Mich. – Salem) nabbed ninth with a career-best 17.58 meters/ 57 feet 8-inches.

The Green and White are in the driver's seat of the heptathlon after day one, with Simmons leading the way with 3180 points. Simmons managed to take first in two events on the day, as he won both the long jump and the shot put. He also managed to tie his career-best in the 60m dash with a time of 7.02. Just behind him, redshirt junior Zach Waldron (Grand Rapids, Mich. – Northview) holds on to second with 3106 points, highlighted by an event win in the high jump with a mark of 2.01 meters/ 6 feet 7.25-inches. Waldron also set a career-best in the 60m dash, clocking in at 7.35. Rounding out the Eagles in the heptathlon is freshman Alex Jacobs (Dublin, Ohio – Dublin Jerome), who currently sits in eighth with 2341 points. The newcomer also managed to grab a pair of personal-bests, coming in the form of the 60m dash and the high jump.

The Green and White look to carry the momentum into day two of competition tomorrow, Feb. 27. Action picks back up at 10 a.m. with the finish of the heptathlon. Field events will resume at 1 p.m., while running events begin just before at 12:50 p.m.

EMU Individual Results (* denotes a personal best, Q is a finals qualifying mark)
Event                                                 Mark                                   Points

60m Dash Prelims
10. Aitor Ekobo 6.94
14. Wayne Blanchard                     7.05

200m Dash Prelims
3. Tyler Brown 21.40Q
10. Matthew Williams                          22.00Q

400m Dash Prelims
7. Tyler Brown                                    48.00Q
9. Jeff Elam                                       48.16
10. Mason Waynes                            48.24

5000m Run
1. Willy Fink 14:32.74
2. Hlynur Andresson                           14:33.15
3. Lahsene Bouchikhi                         14:39.55

60m Hurdles Prelims
3. Solomon Simmons                          8.16Q
4. Frank Douglas                                 8.19Q
10. Bryce Lindsey 8.23

Distance Medley Relay
3. Cooke, McFarland, Bradley              9:50.54
Sabo

Long Jump
1. Tyler Brown                                     7.61m/ 24-11.75*
9. Cameron Hart                                  7.05m/ 23-01.75*
10. Nick Herbert                             6.93m/ 22-09.00

Weight Throw
1. Anthony Jones                             21.48m/ 70-05.75
4. Keith Williams                              20.28m/ 66-06.50*
9. Elijah Albert-Grayer                        17.58m/ 57-08.25*

Heptathlon 60m Dash
2. Solomon Simmons                          7.02                                     875
8. Zach Waldron                                  7.35*                                   762
9. Alex Jacobs                                   7.55*                                   697

Heptathlon Long Jump
1. Solomon Simmons                          7.04m/ 23-01.25               823
3. Zach Waldron                                  6.94m/ 22-09.25               799
8. Alex Jacobs 6.14m/ 20-01.75               617

Heptathlon Shot Put
1. Solomon Simmons                          14.79m/ 48-06.25            777
2. Zach Waldron                               14.06m/ 46-01.50            732
7. Alex Jacobs                                   10.22m/ 33-06.50            499

Heptathlon High Jump
1. Zach Waldron                                  2.01m/ 6-07.00                 813
4. Solomon Simmons                          1.89m/ 6-02.25                 705
8. Alex Jacobs 1.68m/ 5-06.00*               528

Heptathlon Day One
1. Solomon Simmons 3180
2. Zach Waldron                                                                      3106
8. Alex Jacobs 2341

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Elijah Albert-Grayer

Hlynur Andresson

Wayne Blanchard

Lahsene Bouchikhi

Scott Bradley

Tyler Brown

Mark Cooke

Frank Douglas

Aitor Ekobo

Jeff Elam

Willy Fink

Cameron Hart

Alex Jacobs

Anthony Jones

Bryce Lindsey

Nick McFarland

Solomon Simmons

Zach Waldron

Mason Waynes

Keith Williams

Matthew Williams

Eastern Michigan Athletics