Miami University
MAC Outdoor Championships
RedHawks Surge on Final Day of MAC Championships
5/13/2017 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field, Cross Country
Complete Results | PDF Results
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- Two more individuals claimed individual titles as the Miami track and field program wrapped up its stint at the Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championships on Saturday.
Alexus Jimson-Miller set a school and meet record to claim her first 100m hurdle crown while Stephen Biebelhausen captured the 1500m title in his final meet to highlight a strong day on both sides for the Red & White. Both teams finished fifth in the final standings as the women scored 74 points while the men added 72. Akron won the team title in both the men's and women's meets.
"It was impressive to see this team come together and ride the momentum from one event to the next," Director of Track & Field/Cross Country Tom Chorny said. "That's the kind of thing that needs to happen for a team to take the next step competitively as a program. We placed eighth in the women's meet last year and moved up to fifth and added 29 more points. That alone shows the direction our program is going in. Alexus coming through with a huge time was amazing. It was one of those performances that just carried momentum. We were 1-2 and very close to a sweep in the 1500m. For Stephen and Andrew (Dusing) to step out like that in their final conference meet is awesome."
After clocking a new personal best in Friday's prelims, Jimson-Miller showed she had plenty left in the tank on Saturday. The senior rewrote both the Miami and MAC Championships record books when she claimed her first individual title in the 100m hurdles, cruising to the line in 13.26 to put 10 points on the board for the RedHawks. While other results from the country have yet to be reported, that time would move Jimson-Miller into a tie for 15th in the region.
The first individual running event of the day was the men's 1500m and while the eyes were on second-seeding Andrew Dusing, it was Biebelhausen who took the spotlight. The senior duo finished 1-2 in the race with Biebelhausen taking home his first individual MAC crown with a time of 3:47.97 while Dusing garnered All-MAC Second Team status with his runner-up time of 3:48.81. Sean Torpy also joined in the fun, chipping in two more points with his fifth-place finish (3:49.48).
Adding points individually for the Miami women were Olivia Bechtel, Morgan Rice, Emily Hooker, Arissa Freeman and Carly Davis. Bechtel earned Second Team All-MAC recognition by taking second in the 400m final (54.40) while also scoring with a fifth-place finish in the 200m 24.13, Rice placed fifth in the 400m hurdles (1:00.26), Hooker took seventh in the 400m (55.31), Freeman earned a point with her eighth-place finish in the 100m (12.02) and Davis tallied a point with her eighth-place showing in the 5000m (17:24.09). Additionally, the 4x400m relay team of Kalliopi Kountouri, Hooker, Gabby Maslowski and Bechtel ended the afternoon with a sixth-place time of 3:44.86.
The 1500m scoring trio of Biebelhausen, Dusing and Torpy earned additional points in other events as Dusing and Biebelhausen took fourth (14:56.01) and sixth (15:03.71), respectively, in the 5000m while Torpy placed fourth in the 800m (1:53.28). Additional scorers for the men included Aaron Muresan, Vincent Minosky, Jeremiah Hunter and Ivan Dye. Muresan finished runner-up in the 400m hurdles with his time of 54.83, earning Second Team All-MAC recognition, while Minosky took sixth (56.67) in the same event. Hunter notched a fifth-place finish in the 100m (10.50) while Dye finished his 400m lap in 49.10 to claim sixth. Both of the Miami men's relay teams finished third in their respective races as the 4x100m team of Hunter, Grant Cole, Muresan and Cedric Asseh crossed the line in 41.54 while the 4x400m squad of Dye, Torpy, Muresan and Minosky finished their relay in 3:18.26.
Team wise, this marks Miami's second-straight fifth-place finish on the men's side while the fifth-place showing for the RedHawk women is their highest spot in the outdoor meet since taking fourth in 2013. For their strong performances, both Torpy and Bechtel earned MAC Freshman of the Year honors.
The MAC Outdoor Championships marks the end of the season for the bulk of the RedHawks, but a handful are in contention for spots in the NCAA East Region Preliminary meet, which runs May 25-27 in Lexington, Ky. MiamiRedHawks.com will announce the RedHawks' qualifiers once the NCAA reveals the postseason field.
Players Mentioned
