UF's Smithey and AU's Roberts Chosen As GLIAC Men's Indoor Track and Field "Athletes of the Week," Respectively

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BAY CITY, Mich. - University of Findlay sophomore Curtis Smithey (Bloomdale, Ohio/Elmwood) and Ashland University junior Kurt Roberts (Lancaster, Ohio/Athens) were named the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) men's indoor track and field "Athletes of the Week," respectively.

GLIAC Men's Track Athlete of the Week:
Curtis Smithey- Findlay
Sophomore, Sprints
Bloomdale, Ohio/Elmwood

At the Boston University St. Valentine’s Invitational Curtis Smithey was a 3rd place collegiate finisher in 400m with a time of 48.16. His time is a NCAA Division II provisional qualifying time, ranks him fifth in Division II, and first in GLIAC. He ran a 47.3 split on 4x400m relay team that ran 3:14.42 a Division II provisional qualifying mark, ranks third in the Division II, and first in the GLIAC.

GLIAC Men's Field Athlete of the Week:
Kurt Roberts - Ashland
Junior, Throws
Lancaster, Ohio/Athens

Junior Kurt Roberts did not compete with the rest of his team at the All Ohio Championships, but instead threw at the Akron Invitational this past weekend. Roberts certainly made his mark at the event, finishing second in the shot put with a throw of 19.62 meters. The throw set a new national high this season and set the AU record. If Roberts throws the same distance at the NCAA Championships, he will set the Division II record.

-----GLIAC Men's Indoor Track & Field Weekly Notes-----

Ashland Eagles

The AU men’s track team competed at the All Ohio Championships this past Saturday (Feb. 13) at Bowling Green. In the field events, it was almost a no contest. In both the weight throw and the shot put, the Eagles swept the medal platform. In the shot put, Blaine Magg took first (16.51), Craig Call finished second (15.78) and Chase Sniadecki placed third (15.65). In the weight throw, Mike Jeffery took home the gold medal (20.52), Ryan Loughney finished second (18.97) and Maag rounded out the podium in third (18.59). In continuing in the dominance of the field events, Nate Cooper took the top spot in the triple jump (13.47). Cooper also placed second in the high jump (2.02). Carsten Krohn also earned silver in the heptathlon (5203) and he was just 14 points behind Michael McCarty of Miami. The 5,203 by Krohn is the second highest point total in the nation this season. On the running side of the meet, the Eagles 4x400 meter relay team finished in first with a team consisting of Cory Lamar, Alan Dunson, Shawn Kiss and Joe Horn. Dunson also earned the top spot in the 60 meter hurdles (8.24). Lamar not trying to be outdone by his relay teammate won the 400 meter dash (49.61). Horn seemed to one up his other relay teammates as he won the 200 meter dash (21.99) and finished third in the 60 meter dash (7.04). The Eagles compete at the Kent State Tune-up on Saturday (Feb. 20).

Ferris State Bulldogs

The Ferris State University men’s indoor track and field team posted impressive results in this weekend’s (Feb. 12-13) Grand Valley State “Big Meet.” Senior Greg Burns surpassed a national provisional standard in winning the men’s pole vault open division with a vault of 15-9 in the event, which also ranks as one of the school’s best showings in history. FSU’s Justin Price took fifth place overall among a field of nearly 70 competitors in the men’s 400-meter open race (50.04). He also posted one of the school’s top five all-time indoor marks in the 200 meters after placing 30th overall (22.92) in the open division of the event. Freshman David Silversmith was eighth in the 5,000-meter open field (15:32.74) for the Bulldogs. Finally, senior Mike Mangieri came in 24th among a field of nearly 80 runners in the 5,000 meters with his time of 14:48.65 ranking as the school’s third-best mark ever in the race. Up next for the Bulldogs is the annual Central Michigan Jack Skoog Open set for Friday, Feb. 19, in Mount Pleasant, Mich.

Findlay Oilers

At the Valentine Invitational, Derrick Vicars finished second in the shot put with a toss of 55’10.25 while Nathaniel Kurtz placed second in the weight throw at 62’09.25. Vicars added a fourth place finish in the weight throw at 60’01.00 while the Oilers 4x400 meter relay team of Greg Schaible, Shawnathan Fort, Simon Bernard and Curtis Smithey finished fourth with a time of 3:14.42. Cory Vales was seventh in the high jump at 6’03.50, Bernard finished eighth in the 500-meter dash at 1:05.14 and Smithey took 11th in the 400-meter dash after crossing the finish line in 48.16. At the All-Ohio Championship, Shane Shockey won the pole vault with a school record breaking and NCAA provisional mark of 16’00.75 while Corey Clarke was second in the 200-meter dash with a time of 22.56. Chris Ehrman took third in the pole vault at 15’00.00 while the Oilers 4x400 meter relay team of Clarke, Tim Sanders, Erik Birkholz and Joe Guerra came in fourth with a time of 3:26.49. The Oilers will be back in action again on February 19 at the Buckeye Tune-Up in Columbus, Ohio.

Grand Valley State Lakers

The Laker men competed in the GVSU Big Meet this past weekend (Feb. 12-13). Paul Zielinski (Columbus, Ind.) and Ross Faasse (Grand Rapids, Mich.) hit the NCAA provisional mark for the first time this season in the 5000-meter run. Zielinski crossed the finish line with a time of 14:38.55, while Faasse finished with a time of 14:45.79. Austin Brown (Sturgis, Mich.) crossed the finish line sixth with a time of 4:20.19 in the mile run, while Craig Rumpf (Niles, Mich.) placed sixth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 50.18 seconds. In the field events, Nate Miller (Trenton, Mich.) finished sixth in the high jump with a jump of 6’8.25". In the shot put, Matt Armstrong (Lansing, Mich.) placed fifth with a throw of 56’6.75", while Donny Stiffler (Webberville, Mich.) improved his previous provisional mark with a distance of 56’4.50", placing sixth. Kevin Leland (Greenvillie, Ohio) and Travis Fisher (Fort Wayne, Ind.) tied for third in the men’s pole vault, with a height of 15’3". The Grand Valley State track and field teams will host the GR Championships next Friday (Feb. 19) in the Laker Turf Building.

Hillsdale Chargers

Senior Jason Stomps turned in another powerful mark in the weight throw, 21.36 meters. He was second in the event, losing out only to Olympian Libor Charfreitag. Senior All-American Jared Krout hit new season-best times in the 200 and 400, while sophomore sprinter Skylar Dooley finished the 200 in 22.14 seconds. Jeff Wysong, Joel VanderWorp and Tim Jagielski all earned lifetime-best times in the mile run, while Shawn McKinstry and J.P. Perkins did the same in the 800 meter run.

Lake Superior State Lakers

The LSSU men finished 10th among 20 teams. LSSU competes at Central Michigan University on Feb. 19.

Northwood Timberwolves

The Timerbwolves were idle this week and compete next on Feb. 19 at Central Michigan University.

Saginaw Valley State Cardinals

A few members of the Saginaw Valley State University men’s track and field team competed Friday (Feb. 12) and Saturday (Feb. 13) in the GVSU Big Meet. There were only seven Cardinals that participated in the Big Meet, but they competed very well, finishing with four Division II provisional qualifying times. The distance medley relay team, consisting of junior Marion Body and seniors Charlie Richards, Tony Filipek, and Derek Stone improved upon their previous time by ten seconds, crossing the line at 9:58.38, placing them second. Filipek and Stone also competed in other events this weekend, Filipek in the 800-meter run, timing in at 1:52.93, and Stone in the mile, improving his provisional time to 4:11.72. Earning the Cardinals their fourth provisional time in the 5,000-meter run was senior Steve Genther (Laingsburg, Mich.), who clocked-in at 14:32.18. The men’s track and field team will be back in action Friday (Feb. 19), when it travels to Mt. Pleasant, Mich. to compete in the Central Michigan University Open.

Tiffin Dragons

Dominique O’Neil won the mile in 4:25.69 while Ramone Brant won the 55 hurdles in 7.65. Travis LeFlore was high jump champion with a jump of 6-6, Lee Miller won the pole vault event with a vault of 14-11, John Havrilla was weight throw champion with a mark of 51-11, and the 4x200 relay team also won in 1:34.87. Other top finishers for the men included Kyle Faerber (mile, 2nd), Mike Eblin (3000, 4th), Andy Moore (55 hurdles, 2nd), 4x400 team (3rd), Dan Snyder (pole vault, 2nd), Antoine Allen (triple jump, 2nd), Cameron Lewis (shot put, 2nd), Corey Harrold (shot put, 3rd), Nolan Hill (weight throw, 2nd), Joe Candito (55, 3rd), and Jordan Selfe (200, 3rd; 400, 4th).