Track and Field Makes the Short Trip for Akron Invite
2/12/2010 12:00:00 AM | Track and Field
And They're Off
Kent State will make the short 15-mile trip for the annual Akron Invitational this weekend (Feb. 12-13. While the Mid-American Conference Championships is two weeks away, this will be the final weekend many of the top runners and throwers will be in action before the MAC meet.
"This will be a snapshot of not only evaluating ourselves, but the rest of the conference," said Director of Track and Field and Cross Country Bill Lawson. "Our goals are to get a number of people with better marks to ensure they are in the fast heats at the MAC Championships.
"We want to make a hard push before the Kent State Tune-Up Next weekend, where we will use people sparingly."
The goals for the weekend are simple according to Lawson: improve marks for the MAC Championships and for those who have provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championships.
"We are going to compete Diana Dumitrescu again in the pentathlon to hopefully solidify her berth in the NCAA Championships," Lawson said. "She is currently ranked eighth in the country, but I am not naïve that is going to hold. We want to get her another 30-50 points, and I think we are in position to do so. I think we are also looking to increase Destin Heasley's provisional mark in the 800 meters and to move the men's mile relay closer to the national mark."
Four Golden Flashes have qualified provisionally for the NCAA Indoor Championships thus far in 2010: junior Destin Heasley in the 800 meters, sophomores Diana Dumitrescu in the pentathlon and Dean Wood in the high jump and freshman Kenneth Agee in the high jump.
At the MAC Championships Feb. 26-27 in Mount Pleasant, Mich., the Kent State men's and women's track and field team with each be going for their second indoor conference championship.
"Right now we are set at a good position, especially on the women's side. I think we got a couple more pieces to solidify on the men's side," Lawson said.
Another Week, Another Award
CLEVELAND - Junior Destin Heasley (Massillon Washington/Massillon) has been named Mid-American Conference Men's Track Athlete of the Week. The men's and women's team competed at the 23rd annual Meyo Invitational on the campus of Notre Dame this past weekend (Feb. 5-6).
At the meet, Heasley placed 5th in the 800 meters with a season-best and MAC-best time of 1:49.78. He was tripped up in the first 200 meters and almost fell but still managed to provisionally qualify for the NCAA Indoor Championships. In the 4x400 relay, he ran a 47.7 split to help the Golden Flashes finish fifth.
Three different track and field athletes (five times overall) have earned conference athlete of the week honors. Heasley (Dec. 15 and Feb. 9) and sophomore Diana Dumitrescu (Dec. 15 and Feb. 3) have received this distinction twice. Sophomore Dean Wood was also MAC Men's Field Athlete of the Week Dec. 15.
Leading the MAC
Four individuals and the women's distance medley relay team currently leads the MAC.
Sophomore Diana Dumitrescu currently leads the conference with an NCAA provisional mark of 3,902 points, 232 points more than her nearest competitor. The women's DMR currently leads the conference by more than three seconds with a time of 11:43.38.
On the men's side, junior Destin Heasley is best in the MAC with a provisional NCAA qualifying time of 1:49.78 in the 800 meters while sophomore Dean Wood and freshman Kenneth Agee both are tops in the conference with a provisional qualifying height of 7-00.25 in the high jump.
Next Up
In their final competition before the MAC Championships, the Kent State men's and women's track and field teams host their final home meet Saturday. The annual Kent State Tune-Up is set for Sat., Feb. 20 at 9 a.m.
