Multi-event winners Ivancic, Eaton Jr. and Bryson pace Kent State
1/19/2008 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
By Mike Bello
The Kent State men's and women's track and field teams came out strong Friday night (1/18) in the double-dual meet with Youngstown State and Ohio at the Kent State Field House, with Nick Ivancic, Curtis Eaton Jr., and Andrea Bryson leading the way for the Golden Flashes.
Ivancic and Eaton won all three of their events, culminating with a three-second victory in the 4x400 meter relay, to lead the men to a 93-56 victory over the Youngstown State Penguins, losing only one of the 14 events on the night.
Bryson meanwhile won both of her events before deciding not to compete in the relay because of a sore hip as the women won eight of the 14 events to edge the Bobcats 73-72 while defeating the Penguins 82-62.
“It's a confidence booster, but we came out here and knew what we had to do,” said Bryson, who said she wanted to be safe than sorry when she sat out of the relay. “We knew that we could beat them (Ohio).”
Ivancic started the meet off strong for the Flashes, winning the long jump with a 6.72 meter leap, just edging out Youngstown State's Shayne York by .03 meters.
“Youngstown's got some strong competitors,” said Ivancic “but I just came through, stayed focused, and everything went well today.”
The senior from Mentor then turned his attention to the 60-meter hurdles, winning with a time of 8.30 seconds over second-place finisher Jerril Hall of Youngstown State (8.67).
“He's a workhorse,” said head coach Bill Lawson. “He's like Chris Caine last year (2007 MAC indoor heptathlon winner), who we miss. We'll miss Nick next year.”
“I just tried to stay relaxed and focused,” said Ivancic. “We had a good week of practice and I tried to stick with what we were doing during the whole week.”
He then handed it off to Eaton, so to speak, as the sophomore from Akron won the next track event, the 400 meter dash, with a time of 49.11 seconds. Youngstown State's Adam Kagarise came in second with a time of 50.01 seconds.
Eaton then won the 200 meter dash with a time of 22.16 seconds, outsprinting the Penguins' Scott Streiner who came in second with a time of 22.51 seconds.
“It was just a workout for him,” said Lawson. “He was instructed not to go super hard, but just to get through this meet so we can be ready for Akron next weekend. It was an outstanding performance.”
In the last event of the night, the 4x400, Ivancic and Eaton guided the Flashes to victory with a time of 3:19.43, edging out Youngstown State which finished in 3:22.39. Ivancic, running the second leg of the race, overcame a deficit and actually gained a nearly one second lead as he handed off the baton. Eaton ran the anchor leg of the race and increased the lead to almost three seconds as he crossed the finish line.
“It's a good start to the beginning of the indoor season,” said Eaton. “I'm happy with the wins. I felt I could have done a little better as far as my times, but I'll take it.”
The women, picked to finish near the bottom of the MAC in preseason polls, showed it does not mean anything until you actually get onto the track. Bryson, a senior from Toledo, won the 60 meter dash with a time of 7.73, defeating second-place finisher Chanelle Harmon of Ohio (7.95).
Bryson competed in the 200 meter dash, where she posted a time of 25.53 seconds, nearly three-quarters of a second faster than second-place finisher Darcelle Formby of Youngstown State (26.25). Despite Bryson sitting out the event, the women still won the 4x400 relay with a time of 3:57.68. Youngstown State finished second with a time of 4:06.10.
“We've been working really hard in practice,” said Bryson. “I feel the whole team did a good job, not just the sprinters and not just me. I feel the whole team put forth a great effort.”
Despite the season just beginning, Bryson has already posted faster results than she did during last season's indoor season. Her times in the 60 and 200 meters on Friday were more than .15 and 1.2 seconds faster, respectively, than her times last year in the Akron Dual meet.
Lawson believes Bryson is becoming a pillar and a leader for the women's team.
“She has turned in to one of those people,” said Lawson. “The competition's going to get stiffer, but she's doing her job right now and she's being, more importantly, a team leader. We need people to rally off of that. That was a great job for Andrea.”
Up next for both teams is the 2008 Akron Dual meet next Friday (1/25) at the Kent State Field House. The Flashes feel Friday's meet will get them ready for Akron.
“This is a good meet to get prepared (for Akron) and take it one step at a time,” said Eaton. “It's still early.”
“It's going to be a big meet,” said Ivancic. “This (meet) definitely builds confidence, gets everybody ready to run fast against them. They're going to be a tough team to beat.”
