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May 13, 2006
TOLEDO, Ohio - With a first-place finish in the 5,000 meters, senior Dan Huling (Geneva, Ill.) became the first athlete in Miami history to win three individual conference track titles in the same season as the Miami University men's track and field team wrapped up the final day of the Mid-American Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships. Scoring 30 points over the three-day meet, Huling helped Miami finish fifth with 102.5 points and became the first Miami track and field athlete in 53 years to win more than two MAC track titles at a single conference meet.
Completing an impressive run at the conference meet, Huling clocked in with a first-place time of 14:05.94 in the 5,000 meters and won his third MAC crown in as many days. After winning both the 3,000-meter steeplechase and 10,000 meters, Huling, the MAC's Most Outstanding Performer, became the first Miami athlete since Lee Stevens in 1953 to win three MAC titles. During the 1953 conference meet, Stevens won the 220 meters and 400 meters, and he also ran a leg on the conference champion 880-meter relay and mile relay squads. In a feat unrivaled by any other in school history, Huling won four MAC titles during his senior season, including the MAC Cross Country Title, and won every MAC title for which he competed.
In addition to the 5,000 meters, Miami's top scoring event was the 1,500 meters as three different athletes placed among the top eight finishers. Freshman Pat Sovacool (Lakewood, Ohio) was the top RedHawk runner with a third-place time of 3:54.19, while seniors Chris Swisher (Milan, Ind.) and David Mitchell (Woodridge, Ill.) finished sixth (3:56.50) and eighth (3:58.43), respectively. The three distance runners combined to score 10 team points.
Two RedHawks scored points in the pole vault as sophomore Chris Skaggs (Sandusky, Ohio) and senior Ceith Creekmur (Naperville, Ill.) finished fifth and eighth, respectively. Skaggs matched his season-best clearance with a vault of 15-7, while Creekmur tied for eighth with his vault of 14-1 1/4. Miami's vaulters combined to score 4.5 team points.
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Seniors Eric Bowman (Dayton, Ohio) and Bobby Houston (Hilliard, Ohio) combined to score 2.5 points in the hurdle events. Bowman finished tied for seventh in the 110-meter hurdles, clocking in at 15.04, while Houston placed eighth in the 400-meter hurdles, turning in a season-best time of 54.20.
In the relay events, Miami scored points in both the 4x100 meter and 4x400 meter relays. The RedHawks finished sixth in the 4x100 meter relay, as the squad of seniors Michael Watts (Randolph, N.J.), Henize VonEckartsberg (Dublin, Ohio), Ryan Phillips (Germantown, Ohio) and sophomore James Harris (Westlake, Ohio) clocked in with a season-best time of 41.66. Miami's relay squad followed with a fourth-place time in the 4x400 meter relay, finishing in 3:14.84. Watts, VonEckartsberg, junior Chris Corgiat (Cincinnati, Ohio) and junior Eric Sylvester (Cleveland, Ohio) comprised the 4x400 meter relay team.
Miami placed two athletes in the finals of the sprint events, as Watts finished sixth in the 200 meters and VonEckartsberg placed fourth in the 400 meters. Watts crossed the line with a time of 21.79, earning three points, while VonEckartsberg clocked in at 48.47, earning five points. It was VonEckartsberg's first individual top-five MAC finish of his career.
Senior Kyle Kraus (Kingsville, Ontario) scored five points in two events on the meet's final day, finishing fifth in the high jump (6-6 3/4) and eighth in the triple jump (44-5 1/4). Also scoring in the high jump was junior Tom Herrmann (Upper Arlington, Ohio) with a eighth-place height (6-6 3/4).
Miami's final scoring event was the 800 meters as freshman Sam Cosgrove (Hilliard, Ohio) clocked in with a seventh-place time of 1:55.29.
Huling was the only Miami athlete to earn first-team all-MAC honors, and he also was named the meet's Most Valuable Performer. Sophomore Kevin Dwyer (Arlington Heights, Ill.) and senior Rob Prechtl (Fredonia, N.Y.) both took home second-team all-MAC honors.
Central Michigan (176.50 points) won the team title, with Eastern Michigan (159.50), Akron (134.50) and Kent State (132) all finishing ahead of Miami (102.50). Ohio (58) and Buffalo (54) rounded out the standings.
The RedHawks are now looking ahead to the NCAA MidEast Regional as three different athletes have qualified for the meet. Huling, Sovacool and Swisher will represent Miami at the regional meet, which runs May 26-27 in Knoxville, Tenn.
Mid-American Conference Track & Field Championships
UT Track, Toledo, Ohio
May 11-13, 2006
Final Women's Team Scores
1) Akron - 141
2) Eastern Michigan - 103
3) Ball State - 97
4) Kent State - 89.5
5) Western Michigan - 85.50
6) Central Michigan - 60
7) Bowling Green - 52
8) Miami - 50.50
9) Toledo - 45
10) Northern Illinois - 35.50
11) Ohio - 35
12) Buffalo - 25
Women's Most Valuable Performer
Patrice Beasley, Eastern Michigan
Women's Most Outstanding Track Performance
Jill Scully, Ball State
Women's Most Outstanding Field Performance
Ashley Kaufman, Akron
Women's Coach of the Year
Dennis Mitchell, Akron
Final Men's Team Scores
1) Central Michigan - 176.50
2) Eastern Michigan - 159.50
3) Akron - 134.50
4) Kent State - 132
5) Miami - 102.50
6) Ohio - 58
7) Buffalo - 54
Men's Most Valuable Performer
Dan Huling, Miami
Men's Most Outstanding Track Performance
Johnie Drake, CMU
Men's Most Outstanding Field Performance
John Russell, Akron
Men's Coach of the Year
Jim Knapp, CMU
Women's First Team All-MAC
Patrice Beasley, Eastern Michigan
Janaie Edwards, Central Michigan
Beata Rudzinska, Akron
Jill Odom, Western Michigan
Jill Scully, Ball State
Ebba Stenback, Toledo
Tamera Thomas, Central Michigan
Chrystal Dooley, Eastern Michigan
Natalie Sako, Akron
Lashonda Davis, Miami
Liz Mangen, Akron
Stevi Large, Akron
Ashley Kaufman, Akron
Ashley Morrow, Northern Illinois
Sarah Landau, Miami
Jennifer McCoy, Ball State
Tamelca Lewis, Ball State
Women's Second Team All-MAC
Deanna Caldwell, Eastern Michigan
Voni Ferguson, Ball State
Emily Freudenrich, Akron
Rachel Zubricky, Akron
Carime Reinhart, Ohio
Jamie Roflow
Amber Williams
Dominik Stokowska, Kent State
Ashley McCullough, Eastern Michigan
LeVania Henderson, Kent State
Jenna Strouse, Akron
Vanessa Roelofson, Buffalo
Jackie Rodgers, Kent State
Taryn Nye, Miami
April Williams
Men's First Team All-MAC
Johnie Drake, Central Michigan
Steve Wezner, Central Michigan
Abraham Mach, Central Michigan
Corey Nowitzke, Eastern Michigan
Dan Huling, Miami
Clarence Glenn, Central Michigan
Brian Heim, Buffalo
Tomasz Smialek, Akron
Scott Mayle, Akron
Rayshon Higgins, Buffalo
Auston Papay, Akron
Andy Nicholas, Kent State
Dave Adamek, Eastern Michigan
John Russell, Akron
Chris Caine, Kent State
Men's Second Team All-MAC
Pierre Vinson, Central Michigan
Roy Shavers, Eastern Michigan
Ray Armstrong, Kent State
Jake Dubois, Eastern Michigan
Jeff Powers, Central Michigan
AJ Oyer, Akron
Mike Meditz, Akron
Adam Kring
Phil Rickaby, Kent State
Cadeau Kelley, Akron
Randall Hafner, Akron
Jarosl Zakrzewski, Kent State
Rob Prechtl, Miami
Brent Shelby, Kent State
David Jones, Central Michigan
Kevin Dwyer, Miami
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