A look back at 2009-10 track and field teams

By Men | May 31, 2010

Cameron Seitcher, For The Miami StudentAs the seasons change from spring to summer, so concludes another successful season for the Miami University men's and women's track and field teams. For those who didn't qualify for regionals, the recent Mid-American Conference (MAC) Championships that took place May 13-15 represented the last time Miami senior track athletes would put on their uniforms to represent the RedHawks and marked the first time that underclassmen team members tried to rise above tough conference competition and establish themselves as team/conference leaders in the seasons to come. The men's team, captained by senior Paul Krebs and junior Matt Losi, finished in sixth place at the MAC Championships. The team received a total of 66 points for the weekend, far less than runner up University of Akron (175.5 pts) and champion Eastern Michigan University (186 pts). Despite the unfullfillment of expectations as a team, the men's team got a good number of individual performances that returned recognition and honors. Junior Michael McCarty headlined the performances by taking second in the men's long jump, eighth in both the 110m and 400m hurdles and was part of the 4x400m relay team that finished two-thousandths of a second ahead of the University at Buffalo to claim third place. McCarty's long jump performance earned him Second Team All-MAC honors and qualified him as the lone representative from this year's team at the NCAA East Preliminary Regionals. Other notable individual performances came from junior David Serrano who finished second in the high jump (6-9/2.06m) that led him to Second Team All-MAC honors as well, junior John Gausmann who received a seventh place finish in the discuss with a throw of 160-8/48.98m, sophomore John Brockman who finished second in the javelin toss and redshirt sophomore Matt Rudin who finished third in the pole vault. All performances put these athletes in contention to qualify for the NCAA East Preliminaries but unfortunately only McCarty was selected to compete. The women's team saw similar team results in the MAC Championships, finishing sixth overall as well. The team finished with 72 total points, with the runner up being Akron (104 pts) and the champion Kent State University (142). Like the men's squad, the women had some stellar individual performances that overshadowed the team's less than superb performance. Junior Kelly Miller captured the 1500m run title (earning her a spot on the First Team All-MAC) and redshirt sophomore Rachel Patterson was the runner up in the 5000m run despite keeping the first position for most of the race and posted Miami's second best overall time in this event with a 16:34.06 time. The women's 4x400 team of Diona Graves, Tasha Profit, Ruth Rasch and Rachel Clay broke the school record for this event by posting a 3:42.72 time which was two seconds better than the previous mark. As amazing as these record-breaking performances were, a notable performance came from senior Amanda Mirochna. Mirochna placed first in the steeplechase event making it a repeat of her steeplechase title that she claimed as a junior at these same MAC Championships. "Winning the steeplechase this year was a perfect way for me to end my last track conference," Mirochna said. "It is always exciting to win your event at MAC's. This year was equally as challenging as last year. They both had different circumstances but for both years I came in seated second so there were definitely people to race the whole time." Four athletes - Mirochna, Patterson, Lenahan and Rasch - qualified and will be representing the Red and White at the NCAA East Preliminary Regionals.Team Outlook for Next Season Women The women's track team will be returning with loads of talent next year and will be seen as one of the favorites to make a run at the overall MAC Championship next season. The 'Hawks will be returning all the members who qualified for regionals, excluding graduating senior Amanda Mirochna, along with fellow talented members Tasha Profit (400m), Layne Baggett (100m hurdles), Magda Wikar (long jump) and Diona Graves (100/200 dash). Mirochna feels that next season won't only be successful because of the talent that is returning but also because of the increasing sense of work ethic these girls have been gaining. "The most exciting aspect about this team right now is that they are improving and turning into something great," Mirochna said. "Each year we are getting more dedicated and focused on achieving our goals. Whether it is in practice or in the classroom, we are always trying to push each other." This kind of dedication and caring for one another will create a more tightly knit bunch that will recognize their team efforts first rather than their individual efforts. Mirochna stressed this same point. "Whatever I have been through these past four years, I have been through it with my team," Mirochna said. "We all have a blast whether it is at practice, meets or just hanging out. The girls on the team are my best friends and I am definitely going to miss them the most once I leave Miami." Expect the women's RedHawk track team to continue to improve their team unity next season. With an increasing sense of dedication to one another and miles of talent returning next year, a MAC Championship will definitely be on the team's radar next season Men The men's track team is expecting a vast improvement in their performance from this year to next. With this year's team only consisting of five seniors out of the total 43 team members, expect the 14 rising seniors and rising upperclassmen to fill big roles next season. MAC Championship standouts Michael McCarty (long jump), David Serrano (high jump), John Gausmann (discus), Matt Rudin (pole vault) and John Brockman (javelin) will all be returning to wreck havoc on the rest of the MAC Conference. Another important aspect that will play a huge factor on next year's squad is leadership. The team graduated one of its captains, senior Paul Krebs, but rising senior Matt Losi was captain of last year's team and is looking forward to accepting the honor again next year. "Being a captain last year was an enlightening experience," Krebs said. "It was really fun to take a leadership role on this team and help motivate my teammates. I am looking forward to being a captain next year and feel that my experience from this year will help me to be a better leader of this team next season." Losi is also excited about the returning talented group of men he will be leading next spring. "I already know that I can count on David (Serrano), Michael (McCarty), John (Gausmann) and the other returning seniors to motivate themselves to improve this offseason and into next year," Losi said. "I think our team's performance next season will depend how hard we work this offseason, especially our younger guys. If our younger guys become dedicated and become big parts of our team next year, as I am hopeful of them, then I see next season being a very successful one." With a similar face leading the team, a talented core returning and a big stress on offseason improvement, look for the men's track team to add more trophies to its case next spring.