Akron, Kent State Capture 2014 MAC Indoor Track and Field Champinoships

The Akron men's team and the Kent State women's team were crowed the 2014 Mid-American Conference Indoor Track and Field champions on Saturday afternoon in Kent, Ohio.

The Zips won their third championship in four seasons by scoring 140 points. They finished with a victory margin of eight points. The Golden Flashes earned their fourth championship in five seasons with a final point total of 127.5. They won the meet by 29 points.

On the men's side, Akron captured six of the meet's 17 gold medals and dominated the distance running events in particular. Jake Hiltner won the 800 meter run in a MAC-record time of 1:48.85, while Clayton Murphy won the MAC championship in the mile run with a time of 4:08.69. Kyle Cochrun won two championships by earning victories in the 3000-meter run (8:17.37) and the 5000-meter run (14:24.11). The Zips had runners place second in the mile and 3000 and place third in the 800.

The Zips also won gold when Shaun Barber set a MAC record in the pole vault with a final mark of 5.55 meters. Daryl Baptiste posted a leap of 7.35 meters to capture the long jump championship. Akron athletes also placed third in both events.

Despite finishing fourth out of five teams, Buffalo won the second-most gold medals with five. The Bulls won the distance relay (9:52.37) on Friday and also earned championships in four field events. Chris Reape won the MAC championship in the high jump, and he was joined by Jonathan Jones (shot put) and Evan Palmer (weight throw). Mike Morgan brought home the gold in the heptathlon. He won two of the seven events (high jump, 1000 meter run) and finished in the top three in six of the seven.

Eastern Michigan athletes won championships in three events. The team won in the 4x400 meter relay, and Tyler Brown posted the best time in the 400-meter dash. Donald Scott set a MAC record for the Eagles in the triple jump with a leap of 15.85 meters.

Riak Reese and Wayne Gordon dashed to gold medals in the 60-meter and 200-meter dash for Kent State, respectively. The Golden Flashes also had eight athletes win silver medals for second-place finishes, which allowed them to finish second in the meet. Central Michigan's Renaldo Powell captured the meet's final gold medal with a time of 7.74 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles.

On the women's side, Kent State captured four gold medals and had 12 athletes place in the top three of events, nearly double the total of any other individual team. The Flashes were particularly potent in the field events, where they won three titles. Dior Delophont and Roseanne Erickson won the high and long jump competitions, respectively, and Danniel Thomas earned the MAC championship in the shot put. KSU earned six other top-three finishes in field events and swept the top three spots in Erickson's long jump win.

Ann Marie Duffus won the championship with an 8.40 second run in the 60-meter hurdles. Flashes' athletes placed third in the 60-meter and 200-meter dashes.

Eastern Michigan matched KSU with four championships, and the Eagles had a total of seven top-three finishes. Victoria Voronko won two gold medals by running the fastest times in the 3000-meter run (9:36.16) and 5000-meter run (16:33.49). The Eagles also set two MAC records during this weekend's meet. Sarah Chauchard won the pentathlon with a MAC-record 4,153 points, and the Eagles' distance medley relay team won in a record time of 11:29.96. (Both Toledo and Ohio also eclipsed the previous MAC record in that event.)

Akron and Buffalo were victorious in three events each. Like Kent State, the Zips were most successful in field events. Brittany Funk took gold in the weight throw, and Weronika Gaudyn did the same in the triple jump. Annika Roloff posted a new MAC record with a distance of 4.30 meters in the pole vault. The Zips also had second-place finishers in the pole vault and pentathlon, as well as a third-place athlete in the weight throw.

Buffalo's Camaria Long won the 200-meter dash (24.09), and Asia Henry won the 800 meters in a time of 2:06.68. The Bulls' third gold was won in the 4x400 meter relay.

Three other gold medals were earned on Saturday, one each by Bowling Green, Central Michigan and Toledo. The Rockets' Megan Wright became the MAC champion in the mile run, and Shawntoreah Turk captured the 400-meter dash for CMU in a MAC record time of 53.97 seconds. Bowling Green's Jeanette Pettigrew became the fastest athlete in the MAC when she blazed to a 7.53 second run in the 60-meter dash.