The Eastern Michigan Eagles continued their dominance of men's track and field last weekend with their seventh-consecutive indoor Mid-American Conference title.
The Eagles dominated with 164 points, 74 more than second-place Western Michigan. Ball State finished fourth with 69.5 points.
"They have good athletes, and they are well coached," Ball State head coach Jim Sprecher said, "They also have some other variables no other MAC school has. That is why they have won every indoor title."
Aside from Eastern Michigan's performance, the team race was tight. The Cardinals placed second during most of the final day of competition. Heading into the last event - the 1600-meter relay - they could have finished anywhere between third and sixth.
"The relay team was well prepared," Sprecher said. "In the past, we didn't have a competitive 4x400 so other teams controlled our fate. This year, however, they were well-prepared."
The relay team placed sixth, scoring three points. That was not enough for third, but it was enough to hold off fifth-place Akron by one point. Sprecher quickly pointed out, however, that the final event does not tell the whole story.
"You can't pinpoint the final result to one event," he said.
Sprecher was impressed with the team's consistency throughout the events, pointing out that all but two of Ball State's seeded athletes scored in their events.
"That is like shooting 95 percent from the floor in basketball," he said. "Eastern had more people slip up than we did, but they can cover that because they have so much talent."
Ball State had no individual champions but had a number of athletes who scored in multiple events. Senior Zach Riley was favored to win the weight throw but finished third. He also placed eighth in the shot-put.
"There were people who had disappointments, but others stepped up" Riley said. "Meets are won and lost by resiliency."
Sprinter Corey Eloms left Bowling Green with a pair of third-place finishes - one in the 60-meter dash and another in the long jump. Matt Bliss, in his final conference meet, finished third in the 800-meter and fourth in the mile. Chad Asprooth also doubled, running fifth in the 200-meter, and seventh in the 400-meter.
Next week, the Cardinals will travel to South Bend for the Alex Wilson Invitational. The following week, the NCAA Championships will be held in Fayetteville, Ark.
"Right now everybody is either ready for the NCAA Championships or itching to get outdoors," Riley said.
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