Central Michigan University
MAC Outdoor Championship
Dobbelaere, Szuminski Place For CMU On Day 1
5/11/2017 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
Nate Perry, CMUChippewas.com
KALAMAZOO, Mich. - Two podium finishes highlighted the day for Central Michigan on day one of the Mid-American Conference Track & Field Outdoor Championships Western Michigan's Kanley Track & Field Complex.
Other than the heptathlon and decathlon, just seven events were contested on Thursday as the majority of the action will get underway on Friday.
Avery Joseph showed up in a big way for CMU in the men's javelin, launching it a career-best 200-feet, 1-inch heave to finish second and gather eight points for the Chippewas.
In the process, Joseph upset the No. 2 seed in the event, Rodrigo Iglesias of Akron, who finished third at 197-10. Eastern Michigan's Derek Ziegenfuss won the event by a wide margin with a 226-foot heave.
Dylan Banagis posted the second-best result of any Chippewa on Thursday, posting a third-place in the men's hammer throw.
Banagis was heartbreakingly close to second place with a toss of 203 feet. He was edged by Eastern Michigan's Anthony Jones, who threw five inches farther than Banagis on his sixth and final attempt. Reggie Jagers of Kent State won with a 217-3 throw.
CMU's Sam Wagner finished fourth in the men's pole vault, clearing 16-2 3/4. Wagner's effort is the fourth-best of his outdoor career and the fifth time his has surpassed the 16-foot mark outdoors.
CMU's Kylee Dobbelaere entered the women's hammer throw as the No. 3 seed, but did not have her best day, finishing sixth at 183-2. Dobbelaere's sixth place finish was good enough for a three-point contribution to the Chippewa women's team score.
Martha Szekely of Miami (Ohio) won the event in impressive fashion with a throw of 197-1.
CMU's Wendy Szuminski also earned a sixth-place finish, in the women's javelin, accounting for the only other scoring for CMU's women's team. Her effort of 129-4 came up just 3 inches short of the fifth-place finisher, Nikki Manson of Akron.
Danielle Collier of Miami won the event at 164-9.
Competition in the men's decathlon and women's heptathlon began on Thursday as well.
Central's lone entrant in the decathlon, Joe Seghi, sits in fifth place out of eight competitors with 3,439 points. Kent State's TJ Lawson leads with 4,113 points.
Seghi was third in the 100-meter dash, sixth in the 400, seventh in the high jump, fourth in the long jump, and third in the shot put
CMU's April Micheaux occupies fourth place in the heptathlon after day one, totaling 3,140 points. She stands within striking distance of the leader, Jaclyn Siefring of Akron, who has banked 3,393 points.
Micheaux's best finish, second, came in the shot put. She was seventh in the 200-meter dash, sixth in the 100 hurdles, and fifth in the high jump.
After day one, the Chippewa men's team sits in fourth place with 20 points. Eastern Michigan (43), Akron (28) and Kent State (22) hold down the top three spots.
The Chippewa women banked six points on Thursday and sit in ninth place. Bowling Green is the day-one leader with 27.
Players Mentioned
