Thompson Enters 3000 Top-10, Two Throwers Find the Podium in MAC Championships Final Day

Saturday, February 28

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

10:00 AM ET

Central Michigan University

Mid-American Conference Championships

Photo by: Sydney Kline '26 - @sydney.kline.photography

Photo by: Lauren Verellen

Thompson Enters 3000 Top-10, Two Throwers Find the Podium in MAC Championships Final Day

2/28/2026 4:56:00 PM | Track & Field

Results (Web)Photo Gallery

Chippewas log three personal bests, add a top-10 results at Mid-American Conference Championships

By: Jasper Gallagher

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. — Central Michigan Track & Field finished competition Saturday in the final day of the Mid-American Conference Championships, held at Jack Skoog Indoor Track.

The Chippewas' started the day off strong in the shot put with Victoria Merrick, Emily Mclean, and Ereka Risner representing Central Michigan. Mclean led the way with a 14.03m throw for fourth place. Merrick joined Mclean on the podium after a 13.50m put on her fifth attempt secured sixth place. Risner logged a high of 13.09m for 17^th.

"We had a really, really good day. I think starting with two people on the podium and the shot was huge," Central Michigan Director of Track & Field Jenny Swieton said, "I think it made the day a huge roller coaster because you get to the point where you're thinking, 'Oh my gosh, we can do something that I didn't think maybe we could do, you know?' It made the meet super, super exciting.

"Thank you to the shop putters for getting done what they got done."

Two CMU runners logged personal bests in the 3000m. Eva Thompson found her way to eighth in the Chippewas' all-time top-10 list, with a 9:43.96 performance. Her run today shattered her personal career best by nearly 10 seconds, and landed her 12^th in meet. Kyah Hoffman, Kate Jenkins, and Grace VanderKooi finished 19^th, 20^th, and 21^st in meet. Kate Jenkins set a new career best of 9:52.13, Hoffman crossed at 9:50.01, and VanderKooi rounded out the distance runners at 9:54.61.

Linnearia Richards took the line in the 60m-H finals and ran a new personal best of 8.54 seconds, improving her top-10 time for the second day in a row. Richards took fourth overall, one-hundredth of a second behind the third-place finisher.

Danica Shamion finished the 400 in 56.71 seconds, and Maya Guikema recorded a 2:13.07 performance in the 800. Each secured seventh place in the process.

The Chippewas ended the day with the 4x400m, where the team of Richards, Robyn Watts, Libby Munderloh and Danica Shamion took fifth overall with a finishing time of 3:48.49.

"For the most part, people finished higher than they came in projected to finish and I think we came in. We were projected to score 23 points, we scored 40 1/2."

In the team rankings, Central Michigan finished seventh with 40.5 points, far outperforming its projected 23 points. Kent State won the team championship, racking up 104 points. Akron finished second with 101, while Bowling Green secured third with 86.

"It's hard because you always want more," Swieton said. "But we also finished two places higher without Emily (Paupore). That's a big deal. So, I'm proud of everybody, I think they stepped up big."

In all Central Michigan set or improved five top-10 results and set 12 individual personal bests. Maya Guikema set the program record in the 800m, and Emilys Yoshino secured silver in the pole vault Friday.

"We did better than expected, but now I know we can do more," Swieton said. "So let's get to outdoor season and show people."

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