Men's Track To Host The Kent State Tune-Up
2/16/2005 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
KENT, Ohio The men's track and field team returns home Saturday, Feb. 19, for the Kent State Tune-Up at the KSU Field House. The meet, which begins at 10 a.m., is a non-scored meet used by the Golden Flashes as a last "tune-up" for the upcoming Mid-American Conference (MAC) meet. In addition, the meet features several events that are typically not run such as the 55 meters, 55-meter hurdles, 300 meters, 600 meters, 300-meter hurdles and the 1000 meters.
Sykes-Sabock Roundup: Led by two NCAA provisional qualifiers the Kent State mens track and field team placed fifth out of 10 teams with 85 points at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge in State College, Pa. Host Penn State University won the team-title with 125 points.
Adrian Ghioroaie (Sr., Bucharest, Romania/UTEP) led the Golden Flashes, winning the triple jump with a KSU personal-best leap of 52-2. Ghioroaies mark provisionally qualifies him for the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships (March 11-12) in Fayetteville, Ark. Phil Rickaby (Jr., N.S.W., Australia/Winmalee) also stood out in the horizontal jumps winning the long jump in 23-10.25 while Marc Mitchell (Sr., Pittsburgh, Pa./North Hills) was third with a distance of 23-2.50.
On the track, Ofer Barniv (Sr., Kent, Ohio/Roosevelt) set a school record in the 3000 meters, placing second in 8:18.46. James Sjostrom (Sr., Aurora, Ohio/Aurora) won the 5000 meters in a personal-best 14:19.51. Sjostroms time is just over four seconds off the NCAA provisional mark.
Elsewhere on the track, the mens distance medley relay team of Mike Inge (Jr., Elyria, Ohio/Elyria), Matt Bailey (So., Uniontown, Ohio/Lake), Ray Armstrong (So., Elyria, Ohio/Elyria) and Barniv provisionally qualified for the NCAA indoor meet placing third in 9:38.86.
Brent Shelby (Jr., Westlake, Ohio/Westlake) led the throwers, finishing third in the shot put (57-5.75).
Records Section Update: Numerous KSU athletes dented the record books over the weekend at Penn State.
Ofer Barniv (Sr., Kent, Ohio/Roosevelt) set a school record in the 3000 meters, placing second in a MAC-leading 8:18.46. With his stellar performance Barniv vaulted from 10th on the KSU list to first.
Not to be outdone in the distance events were James Sjostrom (Sr., Aurora, Ohio/Aurora) and Seth Hutchinson (So., Kent, Ohio/Field). Sjostrom won the 5000 meters in 14:19.51, which is the second-fastest performance in KSU history while Hutchinson finished fourth in 14:43.42. His mark ranks fourth on the KSU list.
Adrian Ghioroaie (Sr., Bucharest, Romania/UTEP) had a spectacular day at the Sykes-Sabock Challenge both on and off the track. In the triple jump, Ghioroaie won with a NCAA provisional qualifying leap of 52-2. His performance also moved him up to No. 2 on the KSU all-time indoor list and to the eighth spot nationally. On the track, Ghioroaie's 60-meter time of 6.95 placed him seventh on the KSU indoor performance list.
Rounding out the record-breaking performances was the distance medley relay team of Mike Inge (Jr., Elyria, Ohio/Elyria), Matt Bailey (So., Uniontown, Ohio/Lake), Ray Armstrong (So., Elyria, Ohio/Elyria) and Ofer Barniv (Sr., Kent, Ohio/Roosevelt). The foursome placed third in a provisional qualifying 9:38.86, which is the second-fastest mark in KSU history. The quartet also is ranked sixth nationally.
Up Next: The KSU men head to Mount Pleasant, Mich. for the MAC Indoor Track And Field Championships (Feb. 25-26) where they will try to knock off host and preseason favorite Central Michigan University and nine-time MAC indoor champ Eastern Michigan University.
