Photo Gallery from Day One

KENT, Ohio – Freshman Joy Chirchir captured first and three of her teammates finished in the top five in the 5000m to vault the Toledo women's track & field team into first place after the first day of action at the MAC Indoor Championship hosted by Kent State University.

Chirchir ran a time of 16:31.57, narrowly edging out Carmen Riano of Miami (16:31.72) at the finish line in a back-and-forth battle. A trio of sophomore Rockets -- Madeline Vining (16:39.52), Faith Linga (16:39.52), and Emily Vining (16:43.31) -- placed third through fifth, respectively, to give Toledo 25 team points in a single event. The Rockets ended the day with 35 points, three ahead of second-place Miami.

"Joy was awesome, really tough," said Head Coach Andrea Grove-McDonough. "It was a fast race and she ran second most of the way. She made a pass late in the race and took the lead from the Miami runner, who then re-took the lead. Joy didn't get the lead back again until the final five meters of the race."

Toledo gained five points from the 4000m distance medley relay team, which secured fourth with a time of 12:02.57.  The team was comprised of seniors Semra Karaslan and Rayna Horner, junior Paige Embaugh, and sophomore Sarah-Rose Sullivan. "We got really good legs from Paige and Sara-Rose," said Grove-McDonough.

Sophomore Promise Cross picked up five team points by finishing fourth in the pentathlon with 3591 points, setting personal bests in the 800m and long jump.

In qualifying rounds, senior Semra Karaslan placed third in the 800m with a time of 2:13.09. She will be joined in tomorrow's finals by sophomore Krystal Clark (2:14.24/seventh place). Freshman Olivia Gang qualified for the finals for the mile after she ran a 5:02.00 in the prelims, good for 10^th in the event.
 
Saturday events will begin with field events at noon and running events following at 1:15pm.  
 
MAC Indoor Championship
Kent, Ohio | Feb. 25-26
Kent State Field House | Live Stats Live Video
 
Team Standings after Day One
1. Toledo, 35 points
2. Miami (OH), 32 points
3. Ball State, 25 points
4. Eastern Michigan, 24 points
5. Central Michigan, 17 points
6. Northern Illinois, 15 points
7. Bowling Green, 12 points
8. Kent State, 10 points
9. Akron, 8 points
10. Buffalo, 7 points
11. Ohio, 6 points
12. Western Michigan, 4 points
 
Toledo Individual Results
 
Pentathlon
4. Promise Cross, 3591 points
60m Hurdles: 8.82, 948 points
High Jump: 1.55m, 678 points
Shot Put: 10.10m, 536 points
Long Jump: 5.56, 717 points
800m Run, 2:28.52, 712 points
 
Long Jump-Finals
19. Amara Okpalaoka, 5.40m
 
60m Hurdles-Prelims
18. Promise Cross, 9.01
19. Mayson Bates, 9.03
 
Mile Run-Prelims
10. Olivia Gang, 5:02.00 (qualified for finals)
13. Madison Eyman, 5:03.83
14. Claire Steigerwald, 5:04.21
 
800m Run-Prelims
3. Semra Karaslan, 2:13.09 (qualified for finals)
7. Krystal Clark, 2:14.24 (qualified for finals)
 
5000m Run-Finals
1. Joy Chirchir, 16:31.57
3. Madeline Vining, 16:39.01
4. Faith Linga, 16:39.52
5. Emily Vining, 16:43.31
 
4000m Distance Medley Relay
4. Sarah-Rose Sullivan, Rayna Horner, Paige Embaugh, Semra Karaslan, 12:02.57