Kent State men?s track & field team battles to rivalry victory over Akron
1/25/2008 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
KENT, Ohio The Kent State men's track and field team followed the lead the university's men's basketball squad set two days earlier by earning a hard fought victory over an equally talented Akron team, 79-72, Friday (Jan. 25) at the Kent State Field House.
“It's always a good day when you get a win over Akron,” said third-year KSU head coach Bill Lawson of his men's team's triumph over cross-town and Mid-American Conference rivals. “I think that Akron was nationally picked to win the MAC meet, so to beat them here in a dual meet, with not all of our people competing yet, I thought that was a good effort by our guys. They're doing well, and we'll be in the hunt for the MAC Championship.”
The women's team suffered a 90-57 setback to the defending MAC champion Zips.
“Our ladies still have a long ways to go,” said Lawson. “I believe we'll cut into that kind of a defeat by the conference meet. The ladies had some very good performances, too. I think we have some really good individuals, but as a total team, we've got some holes we need to fill.”
Shamel Smith created a lot of buzz for the men's team by downing Akron's Brian Jones in the high jump with a leap of 2.13 meters.
“He just missed being sent to the national championships,” said Lawson. “He's not only a gentleman, he's a great student and a heck of a competitor. He's our team leader.”
Meanwhile for the women's unit, Jessica Lhotsky owned the 800-meter run, clocking in at 2:12.18 to win the event.
“Jess is just lighting it up,” said Lawson. “She's not been challenged yet. I'm looking forward to a day when there's two or three other girls from other schools pushing the pace to see how good she can be this year.”
It was a good day overall for assistant coach Mark Croghan and his middle distance and distance areas. Curtis Eaton Jr. captured the 400-meter dash in 47.91. Joe Parker won the mile with a time of 4:13.62, while Patrick Gorby took the 800-meter run in 1:154.13, and Aiman Scullion snatched the 3000 in 8:29.93. The men's 4x400-meter relay capped the evening off with a 30:20.12 victory.
The women's short distance groups received a win from Ashley Rhodaback, who clocked a 58.72 to capture the 400-meter dash.
In addition to Smith, other KSU men's field competitors came up big. A vault of 4.90 allowed Jeremy Brading to come away triumphant in the event, while Evan Whiting hurled a 17.14 in the shot put to earn a victory. Making his first appearance of the year, Jaroslaw Zakrzewski won the weight throw with a mark of 18.91.
The Golden Flashes are now set to hit the road for the first time this season to take part in the Sykes-Sabock Challenge (Feb. 1-2) in State College, Pa.
