April 14, 2004

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This Week: After hosting its only regular-season home meet, Miami University's men's track & field team returns to the road when it travels to Columbus for the annual All-Ohio Championships, hosted by Ohio State. The two-day event runs April 16-17 and is features a number of Ohio collegiate teams from all levels of competition.

Last Time Out: The RedHawks won five events in taking second place at the Miami Invitational, last weekend at George L. Rider Track. The underclassmen stepped up to lead the Red and White charge, as freshmen and sophomores accounted for four event wins, including sophomore Dan Huling (Geneva, Ill./Geneva Community) in his first attempt at the 3,000m steeplechase.

I Think He Likes It: Head coach Warren Mandrell decided to use sophomore Dan Huling in the steeplechase this year, but I don't think he expected this. In his first collegiate try at the steeplechase, last weekend at the Miami Invitational, Huling led wire-to-wire to take first place. He posted a time of 9:10.35 to distance himself from the field by 15 seconds. Huling's time also tops the MAC by 16 seconds.

Cross-Over Sensations: Huling wasn't the only alumnus from this year's No. 14 cross country team to find success at George L. Rider Track. Sophomore Chris Swisher (Milan, Ind./Milan) dominated the 5,000m alongside senior Jerry Claunch (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota East), leading the entire way and finishing first and second with times of 14:27.16 and 14:28.33, respectively. Freshman Ryan Hutton (Columbus, Ind./North) turned on the gas over the final 400m to overtake third place and give Miami the top three finishers with a time of 14:49.44.

High Jump Hullabaloo: Senior Erik Reynolds (West Chester, Ohio/Lakota East) guided a talented high jumping corps to the top of the conference list in the event with a strong showing at the Miami Invitational. The RedHawks now boast the top four jumpers in Reynolds, sophomores Kyle Kraus (Kingville, Ontario/Kingville) and Ceith Creekmur (Naperville, Ill./Waubonsie Valley) and freshman Tom Herrmann (Upper Arlington, Ohio/Upper Arlington). While Reynolds cleared a league-high 6-10 3/4 and took second last weekend, the trio cleared 6-8 3/4 to tie with each other for second in the conference and fifth (Kraus) and tied for sixth (Creekmur/Herrmann) at the Miami Invitational.

Two of a Kind: They're both freshmen and both named Jake. That's where most of Jake Dunkleberger and Jake Kuhner's (Pickerington, Ohio/Pickerington) similarities end. Dukleberger, a thower, and Kuhner, a pole vaulter, do have something else in common: they each put their names on Miami top-10 lists in their outdoor debuts. Dunkleberger is second in school history with his first-place hammer throw of 197-6 at the Duke Invitational (April 3), behind Dennis Kline's school-record throw of 206-7 in 1989. At the same meet, Kuhner cleared 16-0 3/4 in the pole vault in taking fourth, and put himself ninth all-time at Miami. Kuhner has a way to go before breaking Jeff Ward's (1982) school-record vault of 18-2 1/2 but could work his way up a few slots with a solid freshman campaign.

Home-Track Advantage?: The Mid-American Conference announced the relocation of this year's outdoor conference championship to Miami University. The event was initially awarded to Western Michigan but delays in construction to the WMU facilities caused the relocation to Miami's George L. Rider Track. The 2004 MAC Outdoor Championships are scheduled for May 13-15. Oxford last hosted the outdoor championships in 2001.

Up Next: The Red and White is in action next at the prestigious Penn Relays, April 22-24, in Philadelphia, Pa.