Women take

first, men third

The women’s track and field

team won the Mid-American Conference

Indoor Track and Field

Championship this weekend after

taking the top three spots in the

triple jump late in the meet.

As host school Central Michigan

led by 23 points with three

events remaining, senior Brenda

Baar (41‘0.25”), sophomore Diana

Dumitrescu (40’7”) and freshman

Keri Dantley (40‘4.25”) finished

atop the triple jump results, which

earned the Flashes 24 points and completely wiped away the Chippewas’

lead.

“We had a solid 1-2 with Brenda

Baar and Diana Dumitrescu,”

Kent State coach Bill Lawson said,

“but really, the big performer in

the event was freshman Keri

Dantley. She went from fifth to

third place on her last jump.”

Fourth-place finishes by freshman

pole vaulter Domenica Rossi

and the 4×400 meter relay team of seniors Rachel Crafton, Jessica

Lhotsky, Juliet Alrich and sophomore

Andreea Patrasc allowed the

Flashes to hold off Central Michigan

for the victory, 107-100.

Dumitrescu defended her women’s

pentathlon title with 3,949

points. Dumitrescu was named the

Women’s Most Valuable Performer.

She also finished second in the

women’s long jump and fourth in

the women’s high jump.

“All my hard work that I did

in the past paid off,” Dumitrescu

said. “I’m very proud of that.”

Lhotsky won the women’s

800-meter run in 2:16.22 to finish

her senior indoor season with an

individual conference title.

The men’s team finished in

third place with 113 points, unable

to defend its 2009 championship.

Even runner-up Akron’s 120 points

were a distant second to champion

Eastern Michigan’s 171.

Junior Destin Heasley defended

his title in the men’s 800-meter run

with a time of 1:55.26, and sophomore

Princeton Bryson won the

200-meter dash in 21.51 seconds.

The men’s 4×400 meter relay

team of freshman Javon Walker,

Bryson, Heasley and junior Matt

Moffett also took first place with a

time of 3:17.37, the second straight

year Kent State finished on top in that event.

Bryson, who also finished second

in the 60-meter dash, earned

the men’s Most Valuable Performer

award for the second straight year.

Along with his victory in the

800-meter run, Heasley took home

the Men’s Most Outstanding Track

Performer award.

The MAC named Lawson as the

Women’s Coach of the Year after

winning the men’s honors last season.

“I think this showed strength of

this program,” Lawson said. “Those

girls, and nobody else, made it happen.”

Contact sports reporter Jody

Michael at [email protected].