May 15, 2004

Complete Results

OXFORD, Ohio - Senior Erin Connolly (Springfield, Ohio/Shawnee) successfully defended her conference title in the 100m hurdles, and the RedHawks won the 4x100 relay, as Miami University's women's track & field team took second place at the 2004 MAC Outdoor Track & Field Championships in Oxford. Miami, which started the day in fifth place, finished the three-day meet with 107.50 points, just four and a half back of first-place Central Michigan (112).

Connolly's performance in the hurdles highlighted a day for the RedHawk sprinting corps, which accounted for two-thirds of the teams scoring on the day. She won the 100m hurdles for the second year in a row, this time in 13.88. The 4x100 relay finished just 0.02 seconds off the school record in the event, and 0.19 seconds away from a regional-qualifier. Three of the participants on that relay, freshmen Lashonda Davis (Kokomo, Ind./Kokomo) and Jamila Johnson (Syracuse, N.Y./Nottingham) and senior Bernitta Johnson (Wilkes-Barre, Pa./GAR Memorial), qualified for the finals of the 100m, where Davis led the way, taking second in 11.94. Jamila Johnson was sixth (12.12) and Bernitta Johnson just missed scoring, taking ninth (12.26).

The fourth member of the 400 relay, senior Erika Harper (Bedford, Ohio/Bedford), earned herself a second-place finish (54.91) in the 400m, and two more Miamians scored in the 400m hurdles to round out the sprinters' day. Senior Jen Caldwell (East Clinton, Ohio/Sabina) and junior Katie Dyer (Merrillville, Ind./Merrillville) scored in the hurdles, with Caldwell taking fifth in 1:01.07 and Dyer finishing in 1:01.64 for seventh.

Also scoring points on Saturday was four seniors in their final career MAC Championships. Andrea Kremer (Indianapolis, Ind./Bishop Chatard), Lauren Collins (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence Central), Bernitta Johnson and Lindsay Hazen (Canton, Ohio/Massillon Jackson) all finished among the top five in their events. Kremer finished second in the 5,000m with a time of 16:43.65 and Collins, who defended her hammer throw on Thursday, was fifth in the discus with a distance of 137-9. Johnson and Hazen represented the jumps with fourth and tie for fifth-place finishes, respectively. In the triple jump, Johnson's leap cleared 40-4 1/4 and Hazen cleared 5-4 1/4 in the high jump.

After the Chippewas and RedHawks in the final team standings was Akron (99.50 points), defending-champion Eastern Michigan (97.50) and Kent State (94), which rounded out the top five. Ball State remained competitive in sixth with 89.50 points, as Western Michigan (58), Buffalo (46) and Bowling Green (40) finished seventh through ninth. Completing the field was Toledo (32), Ohio and Northern Illinois in a tie for 11th (17.5), and Marshall (6).

Seven 'Hawks earned all-MAC consideration, including six first-teamers. Connolly and Collins, who won the 100m hurdles and hammer throw titles, were joined on the first team by 400 relay mates Bernitta Johnson, Harper, Jamila Johnson and Davis. Kremer was MU's lone second-team honoree, with a pair of second-place finishes on the weekend. All first-place finishes are awarded a spot on the first team, while second-place finishes are given second-team honors.

Several RedHawks have their first weekend off in two months before the NCAA Regionals, May 26-28, in Baton Rouge, La. Athletes that have met qualifying standards in their events have the chance to compete for a trip to the NCAA Championships in June.

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