Central Michigan University Athletics
Central Michigan University
MAC Outdoor Championship
Moffo, Beauvais Win Titles At MAC Championships
5/12/2018 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
BUFFALO, N.Y. - A pair of victories, two Freshman of the Year Awards, a slew of medals, and a big step forward for the Central Michigan track and field program.
CMU's Shane Moffo won the men's 110-meter hurdles and the Chippewas' Gabriella Beauvais placed first in the women's 400-meter run on Saturday on the third and final day of the Mid-American Conference Championships at Buffalo's UB Stadium.
Both Chippewa squads finished fourth, and their respective point totals - 69 for the women, 115 for the men - were the highest by CMU squads in several years.
"It took everyone coming together and performing," first-year CMU Director of Track and Field Jennifer Swieton said. "They supported each other so well. We just had a lot of young people scoring a lot of points and we had really great senior leadership. If we didn't have such great seniors I don't think we would have done as well as we did.
"Just all-around a really great week physically and emotionally for the team. I feel like we started a snowball that hopefully keeps rolling. We took a lot of steps in the right direction on so many levels."
The Chippewa women finished five points behind third-place Toledo and two ahead of fifth-place Kent State. Their point total, 69, far exceeded the 26 they scored last year at the MAC Championships, and it matched their highest mark since 2010, when they rolled up 86.5 points. They also scored 69 in 2015.
The CMU men more than doubled their 2017 point total (42.5) and the 115 was the most they have scored in the MAC Championships since the 137 they recorded in 2012.
"We've got some crazy things on the horizon for us," Swieton said. "Everybody did absolutely everything they could, and that's what it takes. I feel like across the board everybody stepped up."
CMU's Erin Howard placed second in the discus on Saturday with a throw of 168 feet, 4 inches. That finish, coupled with her third-place finish in the shot put, earned her the Women's Field Freshman of the Year Award.
The Chippewas' Connor Covert shared the Men's Field Freshman of the Year Award after placing sixth in the discus with a throw of 153-6 on Saturday. On Thursday, the opening day of the meet, he was fourth in the hammer throw.
• Moffo won the men's 110 hurdles in 13.87 seconds, while Beauvais' winning time in the women's 400 was 53.09.
Moffo became the Chippewas' first 110 hurdles league champ since 2006, when Clarence Glenn won his second straight MAC title in the event. Beauvais is CMU's first female 400 champ since Najah Floyd in 2007.
• The CMU men also got second-place finishes from its 4x100 relay and 4x400 relay teams.
Berkley Edwards, Jack Dodge, Jamar Hardy and Lorenzo Wells teamed up to finish the 4x100 relay in 40.50 seconds. Dodge, Erick Huertas, Roshawn Morton and Hayes comprised the 4x400 relay squad, which finished in 3:11.12.
• Hayes led a strong showing by the Chippewas in the men's 400 as he placed third in 47.48. Martin (48.95) was seventh and Huertas (49.00) was eighth.
• Freshman Logan Kleam capped an outstanding showing in his first MAC Outdoor Championships with a third-place finish - behind two seniors -- in 14:39.40 in the men's 5,000 meters. He finished second on Thursday in the 10,000.
"That's a ton of points to score for a freshman," said Swieton, adding that Kleam's 14 points were the second-highest for a freshman in the entire meet. "He had a great, great meet."
• CMU sophomore Luke Anderson finished fourth in the men's 1,500 in 3:54.88, a remarkable time and finish considering that he was ranked second to last heading into the event.
• Dodge, also a freshman, earned a pair of medals with a fourth-place finish in the men's 200 (21.09) and a sixth in the 100 (10.50). Wells, a senior, finished fifth in the 100 (21.25).
• Also for the CMU men, senior Ja'Corey Lipsey was sixth in the 400 hurdles (54.02) and sophomore Logan Targgart was seventh in the discus (153-1).
• Nadia Williams, a sophomore, proved to be a workhorse - and a big-time point producer - for the CMU women as she placed fifth in the 100 (11.77), seventh in the 200 (24.33), and ran the leadoff leg in both the 4x100 relay, which placed fifth, and the 4x400 relay, which placed eighth.
Williams' gutty performance came one day after she had placed second in the long jump.
Beauvais, Simonae Dismuke and Aisha Jackson joined Williams in the 4x100. They finished in 46.27. Kyla Walton, Dismuke and Beauvais teamed with Williams in the 4x400 relay. They combined to post a 3:46.08 clocking.
Eastern Michigan finished with 184.5 points to win the men's title, unseating two-time defending champion Akron and completing the Triple Crown by adding the outdoor title to its indoor and cross country championships.
Akron, with 136.5 points, successfully defended its women's team title. It was the third championship in the last four years for the Zips. Eastern Michigan (122) was second.
Players Mentioned
