Track

Stevi Large and Cadeau Kelley each performed well enough to merit All-American status.

Large took eighth in the hammer throw at the NCAA Championships. It was her second All-American award.

Kelley placed seventh in the long jump. He entered the competition with the third-longest jump in the nation all season.

Football

The university (wisely) will appeal the $3 million verdict that a jury awarded Joe Nemer last week.

Notes…

UA is also preparing to face off against Manny Nemer, who, according to an Internet spoof, has been busy foiling the Zips football golf outing.

Ticket sales for the new stadium are progressing nicely, according to GoZips.com. Construction also remains on pace.

New offers…

Aaron Kelley, defensive back, Cincinnati
Offers: Akron, Eastern Michigan and Kent State
Height: 5-foot-11
Weight: 165
Speed: 4.4
Notes: He is also listed as a wide receiver. With his size and speed, Kelley appears destined for punt return duty.

Sean McClellan, defensive tackle, Cincinnati
Offers: Akron, Kent State and Ohio
Height: 6-4
Weight: 245
Speed: 4.9
Notes: McClellan is a converted linebacker. He will look to the prestige of the academics and football program when making his decision.

Quron Pratt, wide receiver, Palmyra, N.J.
Offers: Akron, Duke, William & Mary and James Madison
Height: 5-11
Weight: 159
Speed:
Notes: Pratt also played defensive back last season, and he had seven interceptions.

Track

Two Zips earned high honors this week.

Coach Dennis Mitchell was named the Great Lakes Region’s best women’s coach. Meanwhile, jumper Cadeau Kelley is the region’s top male field athlete.

The ABJ’s Tom Gaffney wrote about what an at-large berth to the NCAA Championships means to Zips high jumper Ryan Jones.

Baseball

Two MLB teams selected Akron players in this week’s Amateur Draft.

The Minnesota Twins drafted pitcher Tom Farmer for the second-straight June. Farmer made his name in the Cape Cod league two summers ago. The Twins drafted him in the 20th round, but Farmer returned to school. This time, Minnesota selected him in the 47th round.

Two rounds later, the New York Mets drafted Doug McNulty, an outfielder/first baseman with whom I have shared several interesting conversations at local establishments. McNulty hit .321 and belted 12 home runs this season.

Track

Four Zips will compete for an NCAA Championship next weekend.

Stevi Large might be the Zips’ best shot at a national champion. She took first at regionals in the hammer throw last weekend.

Auston Papay is appearing at the NCAA Championships for the third time. The discus thrower placed 15th last spring.

Cadeau Kelley is making his second appearance at nationals. The MAC’s long jump champion placed fifth at regionals.

High jumper Ryan Jones earned one of 10 at-large berths to nationals. It will be the senior’s first and only chance at the meet.

The NCAA Championships will be held in Des Moines, Iowa from June 11-14.

Football

The university says InfoCision Stadium is on schedule, despite the lousy weather in Ohio this spring.

The webcam shots don’t show a whole lot of progress. However, it is fascinating to watch the workers scurry around like ants.

Track

Coach Dennis Mitchell talked to the ABJ’s Tom Gaffney about the great win over the weekend.

Despite the women’s dominance in the past, those meets felt like half victories to Mitchell.

Track

Akron can confidently boast one of the best track programs in the Midwest, and it’s certainly the MAC’s elite.

This weekend, the men joined the women as MAC champions, consummating a rise that seemed always to fall a few points short in past seasons.

Last year, the men lost by one point to Eastern Michigan, despite a four-point lead heading into the final event. This championship almost went the same way, but the Zips sprinters performed just well enough in the final event to beat EMU by one point.

It was the men’s first ever conference championship — indoor or outdoor. Cadeau Kelly was MAC Male Field Performer of the Year. He won the long jump and triple jump competitions.

The women’s win was a blowout. The Zips beat Western Michigan by 55.5 points. Stevi Large earned MAC Female Field Performer of the Year.

Zips fans have come to expect such dominance, but Dennis Mitchell deserves mountains of credit for the consistency at which his women’s team wins. The women have won three straight outdoor championships and four straight indoor championships.

Mitchell was named MAC Coach of the Year. It was an easy decision, considering the male/female sweep has only been done three times in conference history, and not since 2000.

About 18 Zips will head to Fayetteville, Ark., for the NCAA Regional Meet at the end of the month. If the individuals are successful at the national level, this could be the most successful season any program has enjoyed in school history.

Miscellaneous

It’s hard to characterize 2007.

Looking back on the year, you might call it an utter disappointment. The basketball team failed to reach the postseason. The football team won four games. The soccer team got upset in the first round.

On the other hand, you could call it a success with Keith Dambrot winning 26 games and having the best men’s basketball team ever to play at Akron. The athletic department revealed its gem of a stadium. The soccer team returned to national rankings and got great play from two freshmen.

Here is the list of most notable moments from the year. Please add your memories for each one.

1) Penno’s Prayer — You won’t see many heartbreaks like this in sports. Cedrick Middleton’s free throw went off the front rim. Then 6.6 seconds seemed like an eternity as the ball found Doug Penno, who found backboard and twine. If you want to torture yourself, watch the Youtube video. I don’t think I have ever written with such anger.
What I wrote

2) Miracle at Kalamazoo — You won’t see many finishes like this game, either. Andre Jones took a pitch and cut out Western Michigan’s heart. “Everything but a band on the field,” ESPN’s commentator said about its top play of the week. If you want a reason to drop the noose from Penno’s Prayer, watch this video. Unfortunately, the rest of the season was a huge downer. In the MAC, however, you never can say next season won’t be better.
What I wrote

3) Zips flush Flashes four times — Is there anything sweeter than beating the Golden Flashes THREE times in one basketball season, including eliminating them in the MAC Tournament? Naa. Top it off with a victory in the teams’ final meeting in the Rubber Bowl. That should silence the Kent State fans for at least 12 months. Winning at the MAC Center will prove to be essential to the team’s confidence during this conference season. Here’s a video of the KSU band solemnly playing at The Q. I assume it was after the fate of its team was known.
What I wrote

4) Stadium revealed — Since 2004, we have heard promises of a new stadium. A concrete announcement came in July. It seemed like a great day for everyone involved. Well, except for the property owners who are losing their homes and businesses. This stadium will be the MAC’s finest. If it does open in 2009, the Zips will have no excuse for not competing at the highest level of any mid-major team. I had to threaten legal action in order to receive the rendering before the announcement, and that was fun.
What I wrote

5) Soccer success — The Zips returned to the level of success under Ken Lolla. Akron should sustain it too, because two of the key players Anthony Ampaipitakwong and Steve Zakuani were freshmen. The team lost in the second round of the NCAA Tournament, but Caleb Porter will have the Zips contending for the foreseeable future.

Honorable mentions

Zippy made an improbable run for the Capital One Mascot Challenge championship. We will learn tomorrow if the marsupial beat Goldy Gopher. I say “improbable” because I assumed Akron would have no chance to beat several BCS schools in a fan voting contest. I know for a fact a handful of dedicated Zips fans were carrying the load.

The women’s track team won another MAC Championship. The men finished second, which is their highest place ever.

Golf coach Tom Porten smacked his tee-ball out of bounds by bolting to Kent State to be an assistant.

Akron suffered through severe incompetance at quarterback. Chris Jacquemain turned into Rex Grossman after the first quarter of most games. Carlton Jackson ran well, but was a turnover machine. Both guys were suspended.

The university did not renew volleyball coach Mike Sweitzer’s contract. He had held the job for 17 seasons.

The university added women’s golf. Jenny King comes from Kentucky to lead the Zips, who will begin play in 2008-09.

Football

Davanzo Tate and Reggie Corner are two guys you’d swear have been on the team for five years.

Actually, they have.

They will start at the Zips’ two cornerback positions in 2007. They have talent, speed and oodles of experience.

Last season, Tate was third in the MAC with 13 pass breakups. Corner intercepted four passes, second-highest total in the conference. He also added eight pass breakups, sixth-best in the MAC.

Both took untraditional routes to their fifth year of college football. Tate, the nation’s 62nd best cornerback prospect out of Austintown Fitch High School in Youngstown, originally signed with West Virginia. He redshirted as a true freshman, then transferred to Akron, which forced him to sit out his redshirt freshman season.

Corner signed with Akron but did not qualify academically his first year. In order to regain his fifth year of eligibility, the former Canton McKinley Bulldog got on track to graduate in that many years.

At the backup spots are Miguel Graham and Rodney Etienne. Graham is a transfer from Coffeyville Junior College in Kansas. The 5-foot-9 junior runs a 4.41 in the 40-yard dash. Etienne, a sophomore, looks like a future defensive captain. Recruited as a safety, he might be playing out of position at cornerback, but I’m guessing the coaches just want to get him on the field.

I wouldn’t go so far as to say either starter is a “shut-down corner.” Dwight Smith was a shut-down corner because he could control an entire side of the field, a former teammate of Smith’s told me last night. Corner and Tate, however, are good players and could be All-MAC selections this season.

Track

After an unprecedented finish at the MAC Championships, Dennis Mitchell thought his Zips were ready for uncharted waters at regionals and nationals.

A month later, he is empty-handed.

“This was a tough one for us,” the coach said. “We are very disappointed. In the past we have always done well at nationals. However, we were not able to achieve the same intensity, focus and execution of technique at the next levels.”

Natalie Sako, a four-time All-American, finished her career with a 17th place finish in the high jump. She was able to get the height necessary, but her injured back prevented her from executing the contortion necessary to avoid banging the bar.

“She competed smart and like a good veteran of national and international competition,” Mitchell said. “It will be hard to see her go.”

Stevi Large, only a sophomore, perhaps became too nervous before the hammer throw preliminaries. She finished 14th.

“She was affected by the preliminary jitters where she was very tight in the throwing ring.” Mitchell said. “She is still very young. She has a great two years still ahead of her.”

Auston Papay didn’t throw his best in either the shot put or discus, but he’ll be back for his senior year.

Track

Akron’s last hope for an All-American failed today as Auston Papay took 24th in the shot put, missing the finals.

It ended a ho-hum NCAA Championship for the Zips that included finishes of 15th, 14th, 17th and 24th.

This season has been great for team performance. The women won the MAC. The men finished an eyelash out of first. Unfortunately, the individual showings were disappointing.

Track

Auston Papay threw consistently in Wednesday’s discus preliminary round at the NCAA Championships.

Unfortunately, one good throw is what gets you to the finals. And the Zips’ junior never got it.

He finished 15th with his best toss being 55.56 meters. The top 12 advanced to the finals. No. 12 finisher Jason Rider of UCLA threw 56.26 meters.

He will compete in the shot put preliminaries today. You can check the meet’s results at this site.

Papay’s shot put bid is Akron’s last chance at an All-American this season.

Track

Stevi Large and Natalie Sako missed their goals of All-American status, but still logged adequate performances at the NCAA Track and Field Championships.

Large missed out on the hammer throw finals by two spots, placing 14th. Sako took 17th in the high jump. A top-eight performance is neccessary to be an All-American — a goal coach Dennis Mitchell set out.

Auston Papay, who qualified for the discus and shot put, is yet to compete.