WOW and wow?

[ZipsVoice]

Well, this past weekend the Zips Swimming and Diving Team won their fifth - FIFTH! - consecutive MAC Championships, setting a record for the most points won in a competition.  I was apprehensive when the team lost a dual to Eastern Michigan earlier this season, but WOW did they come through as the season progressed, and this is a bright spot for Akron Athletics, although most of us are focused on Football and Basketball.  And there are 8 teams on the MAC womens' championships.  Women like Paloma Marrero, Sadie Fazekas, Maddy Myers, Ellie Nebraska, Jackie Pash, Mackenzie Vargas, and oters all contributed greatly.  And they really didn't have much fo a diving presence for the first time in a long time, or the total points would have been astronomical.  Coach Peresie and Medvedeff should be feted across campus and the press (HAH HAH!) as miracle workers for a program that never finished in the top half ever!

 

And then there was wow?  What the heck happened to the track squads this indoor season?  The Championships this weekend say the Akron men finish in 3rd out of only 5 teams, behind Eastern Michigan (expected) and Portage Community College (kinda thought it would happen) while the women somehow got enough field points to pull off a runner-up spot.  On the women's side, remarkably, only Dara Parry (Champion 60 hurdles), Patty Ortega (5th hurdles), and Haley Hess (8th in 800) actually were on the podium for running events.  We didn't even enter a contestant in the 3k or the 5k!  And we finished 11th of 12 team sin the 4x4 relay.  But Jenna Franz (2nd) and Lucy Brian (3rd) won points in the pole vault, Jackie Siefring won the long jump, Ariadna Ramos Gandia was 3rd in triple jump and Olivia Snyder and Abby Wilson (3rd and 5th) scored in the shot.  But....we went 1st-2nd in the Pentathalon with Siefring and Ortega, which is huge.  On the guys side, soem good individual results but lack of depth hurt.  Taron Slone was a work horse with 2nd in the 60 and 3rd in the 200.  Young Freshman Noah Williams was impressive in the 400 where he took 2nd.  Garrett Crichlow had a 4th in the mile.  Another freshman, Patrick Kimble took 3rd in the 60 hurdles, while Preton Fillman was 6th.  The team was 2nd in the 4x4, 3rd in the DMR.  Curtis Richardson and Cody Stime went 1-2 in the High Jump, both clearing 7 feet.  Matt Ludwig won the PV as expected, but Cole Wigal and Tyler Fraker surprised in a tie for 3rd.  Jordan Lattimer won the Long Jump, while Jamir Coleman took 5th, Maurice Harris had a 5th in shot while Phil Jagers was 3rd in the weight throw.  But another HUGE was Kamar Majid - a Firestone HS product - won the Heptathalon, surprising the field.  So....lots of work to do here for outdoors, and the underclassmen will need to keep improving for next winter.