The Kent State men’s and women’s track and field teams both finished at the third place spot at the All-Ohio Championships, which concluded Saturday, Jan. 22 at the Kent State Field House.

The women’s team finished with 71.20 points, falling behind second place Akron’s 78.20 points and Cincinnati’s 119-point first place finish.

The men’s team finished with 104 points, with Akron taking second place with 138 points and Ohio State taking first with 161 points.

“I’m unbelievably happy about the steps our teams took this weekend,” said Bill Lawson, Kent State coach. “Unbelievable performances by Nathan Fanger’s crew. Kent State’s been known for their throwers for 40 years, and they’ve been carrying on that tradition.”

Matthew Pfleger launched his way to second place in the weight throw with toss of 66′-1.75″. Pfleger is ranked third in the country.

“The throwers coach here, Fanger, originally wanted me as a shot putter,” Pfleger said. “But hammer and weight just kind of seemed to pay off a little bit better for me.”

Senior Michael Schober won the heptathlon with a personal best event total of 5,358 points. He won the 1,000-meter run segment, clocking in at 2:45.30, as well as the 60-meter hurdle portion with a time of 8.49. He won the high jump bit with a leap of 6’-4.00”.

Schober took second in the 60-meter dash segment with a time of 7.08 and finished second in the long jump portion with a bound of 22’-7.00”. He also placed second in the shot put section with a throw of 40’-8.75”. In the pole vault portion, Schober took fifth with a height of 13’-1.50”.

Schober set personal bests in many of the events and he holds the heptathlon record for third place in Kent State indoor track and field history.

“I’m far behind where I want to be,” Schober said. “I missed out on a lot of points in a lot of areas but I’m happy.”

For the women, junior Diana Dumitrescu placed first in the pentathlon with 3,945 points. In the 60-meter hurdles portion Dumitrescu took first with a time of 8.95. She also took first in the long jump segment with a bound of 18’-5.75”.

In the high jump bit she took second with a leap of 5’-7.75” and another second place finish in the shot put portion of the event with a throw of 43’-7.75”. She took ninth in the 800-meter run segment with a time of 2:32.56.

Both teams head to State College, Pa. Friday, Jan. 28 and Saturday, Jan. 29 to participate in the Penn State National.

Contact Morgan Galloway at [email protected].