May 9, 2008

OXFORD, Ohio - The Miami University men's track and field team travels to Indiana University this weekend for the Billy Hayes Invitational. Friday's events begin at 3 p.m. in Bloomington, Ind.

The meet is a final tune up for the MAC Championships which take place next weekend at Bowling Green. A host of RedHawks are in position to win or score in the conference championships and will look to improve their seeding this weekend.

One storyline this weekend involves senior pole vaulter Jake Kuhner. Kuhner has a shot at the NCAA Regional qualifying mark of 16-7 ¾. He has cleared 16-1 ¾ several times this year and has narrowly missed at the NCAA mark several times this year. Kuhner has hopefully saved his best for the end of the season and will have good conditions in which to make an attempt.

In the current MAC top-performances list, Jason Coniglio is seeded fourth in the 100 meters and sixth in the 200 meters. Justinn Eddie ranks fifth in the 200 meters.

Pat Sovacool has had a great junior campaign to date, ranking first in the 1,500 meters, first in the 5,000 meters and fourth in the 800 meters. Michael Veatch ranks first in the steeplechase, second in the 5,000 and third in the 1,500 meters. Kevin Silver ranks fourth in the 5,000 meters. Paul Krebs ranks sixth in the 10,000 meters and eighth in the 5,000 meters.

Jesse Whitman owns the fourth-best 110-meter hurdles time in the MAC, while Matt Kessler ranks fifth in the 400-meter hurdles.

Travis Brumm is seeded fifth in the high jump, while Josh Rees ranked third in the long jump. Kuhner and Alex Boiwka are seeded first and third, respectively in the pole vault.

Dan Beach ranks third in the hammer throw with a best of 194-1, while Adam Ruiz is currently seeded seventh in the shot put.

Kevin Dwyer will look to take the decathlon next weekend. He is currently ranked first with a season-best score of 7,240.

Fellow participating schools in the Billy Hayes Invitation include Indiana, Indiana State, Illinois State, and Purdue.