The WMU women stands seventh out of 13 teams with eight points, while the men occupy seventh place out of eight teams with one point.
The women's chase for the title has Akron leading with 36.5 points, followed by Kent State (26), Central Michigan (21), Buffalo (18), Ball State (16), Miami (14), WMU (8), Eastern Michigan (7.5), Bowling Green (6), Marshall (2), Toledo (1), Northern Illinois (0) and Ohio (0). On the men's side, Central Michigan leads with 24 points, ahead of Eastern Michigan (21), Akron (16), Miami (10), Ball State (3), Kent State (3), WMU (1) and Buffalo (0).
Kelly Lycan's squad earned its points in the first event of the championships ? the hammer throw. Junior Kristi Ford saved her best throw for last to finish second overall with a toss of 173'-9" (52.96 meters).
"Kristi really came through for us," said Lycan. "It was a less then ideal day for her, she had to battle through some fouls and then the rain."
The Broncos also placed two athletes in the top 10 of the heptathlon, which concludes Friday. Freshman Katie Pickette stands fifth with 2,922 points while classmate Kendra Erskine holds down 10th place with 2,687 points. Shamika Stanford is 13th overall (2,645).
"This is the first outdoor MAC meet for all three of our heptathletes and they look like they belong out there," said Lycan.
Mike Turk's men's squad earned its lone point in the hammer as five-year senior Soloman Radcliff registered a PR of 177'-4" (54.06m) to finish eighth. WMU also set itself up additional points tomorrow with Jacob Friess situated third in the decathlon.
"It's great to see Soloman score at the MAC, he's been a developing thrower for us," said Turk. "His effort seemed to energize our team ? it's those kind of performances that can make a difference. Overall it was a good day for us, we're ahead of where we should be."
In addition to the multi-events, only six disciplines were contested Thursday. Neither Bronco team managed to score points in the 10,000 meter runs, which were held in ideal conditions with a slight breeze and light sunshine.
NOTES: Friday is "Moving Day" at the MAC Championships, as teams attempt to qualify athletes for Saturday's finals ... Friday's action from George L. Rider Track begins at 10:00 a.m. The last event is scheduled for 5:00 p.m.
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