Central Michigan University Athletics
Women Finish Second, Men Take Fifth at MAC Championships
2/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
MOUNT PLEASANT — Erika Schroll’s record-breaking weekend brought the Central Michigan track and field program on the verge of a women’s Mid-American Conference title at the MAC Indoor Championships on Saturday.
Schroll was named the meet’s Most Outstanding Field Performer and the Chippewas finished runner-up at the meet with 100 points, only seven behind Kent State.
The CMU men’s team took fifth in the two-day competition with 49 points. Eastern Michigan won the meet with 171 points.
Schroll defended her MAC title in the high jump with a height of 5-10 1/2. She also finished fourth in the pentathlon, aided by a school record jump of 6-0 1/2 during the high jump portion of the combined competition.
“Erika has been miss consistency all year long,” head coach Willie Randolph said. “Hasn’t lost the high jump all year long. What she did in the pentathlon shows how bad she wants to be an All-American and shows the type of athlete she is. That jump should put her in the top five in the nation if not better right now.”
Women Hold Late Lead on Final Day
A solid all-around effort by the Chippewas helped them take the lead and stay in front for the majority of Saturday’s competition.
In addition to Schroll’s winning effort, Shanaye Carr won her first individual MAC title in the 60m hurdles, crossing the line in a career-best 8.49 seconds. She was one of three Chippewas in the top five of the event as Brittnee Shreve took third with a time of 8.63 while Tamica Harbour claimed fifth with a time of 8.74. Carr also scored in the 200m (25.32).
“We knew it was going to be a battle from the beginning to end,” head coach Willie Randolph said. “Seeing the journey from where we were to where we are on both sides is great. This is the same team that was here last year with only a couple people brought in. The women bought into what we sold and saw the rewards this weekend.”
Raeanne Lohner earned an individual spot on the All-MAC second-team on day two with a runner-up finish in the 3000m (10:00.06). Lohner also finished third in the mile run (5:00.18) earlier in the day and was a member of the runner-up distance medley relay (11:47.94) on Friday night.
Also scoring for CMU on Saturday were Tanisha Johnson in the high jump (third; 5-6 1/2), Sarah Squires in the mile run (seventh; 5:04.41), Cara Dukes (sixth; 57.16) and Stephanie Hurley (seventh; 57.40) in the 400m, Veronica Garcia in the 800m (seventh; 2:17.70) and the 4x400m relay team (fifth; 3:53.50) of Dukes, Hurley, Alexandra Sisson and Stephanie Byrne.
CMU got contributions from several competitors on day one. Johnson joined Schroll in the pentathlon and finished fifth with 3,703 points. The Maroon and Gold got nine more points courtesy of the weight throw, where Charity Sunderman (59-11 3/4) and Whitney Johnson (59-0 1/4) took fourth and fifth, respectively.


The Chippewas capped their scoring on day one with a gutsy runner-up finish from the distance medley relay team (11:47.94) of Lohner, Sisson, Danielle Dakroub and Sarah Squires. The Chippewas were towards the front of the back most of the race, but fell back to third late in the final leg before Squires’ final kick earned the unit second-team All-MAC honors.


Thomas and Kettlewell Headline Men’s Day Two Effort
Christopher Thomas and Joshua Kettlewell were the top scorers for the men’s squad on Saturday. Thomas took third in the 400m with a time of 49.41 while Kettlewell finished third in the heptathlon with 5,003 points.
Also scoring for the men on day two were Renaldo Powell in the 60m hurdles (fourth; 8.18), David Ashcraft in the 400m (fifth; 49.82), the 4x400m relay team (fifth; 3:23.70) of Thomas, Powell, Branden Post and Ashcraft, Andrew Kruskamp in the high jump (sixth; 6-6 1/4) and Kevin Bacon in the triple jump (sixth; 44-10 3/4).
“There was also more men’s scoring this weekend than we’ve had in the past,” Randolph said. “Now we just have to balance things out in the lineup and move forward.”
Marcus Breidinger’s day one performance on pole vault led the way for CMU on Friday. The senior battled top-ranked Mike Uhle of Akron in a back and forth event that saw Breidinger finish runner-up with a mark of 16-6 3/4. The finish earned the Alma, Mich., native second-team All-MAC honors. Mike McGregor also had a strong showing in the event, taking fourth with a height of 16-0 3/4.

“That was a great battle,” Randolph said. “Marcus came in with the goal to win, but he did good things for the team today. Last year he no heighted indoors, so this was a huge step forward for him.”

Also performing well for the men on Friday was Bacon, who finished third in the long jump after clearing 24-0 3/4.


Another third-place finisher was Riak Mabil in the 5000m. Mabil crossed the line in 14:34.89, three-hundredths of a second behind the runner-up.


Rounding out the scoring for the men’s squad on Friday were Kevin Mays with a career-best in the weight throw (fifth; 59-9 3/4) and the distance medley team (fifth; 10:36.60) of Wade Buchs, DeJuan Calloway, Matthew Erdmans and Chris Pankow.
The Chippewas will bring a handful of athletes to the Alex Wilson Invitational next weekend for a final opportunity to qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships.
