OXFORD, Ohio - A pair of West Virginia natives captured conference titles, while leading the Marshall University men's and women's track teams at the Mid-American Conference Outdoor Track and Field Championships that concluded Saturday.

Casey Batey, a junior from Milton, won the MAC 3,000-meter Steeplechase crown Friday with a time of 8-minutes, 54.36 seconds, bettering Eastern Michigan's Jordan Desilet by more than two seconds. The Cabell-Midland High product went on to finish a close second in the 1,500-meter run on Saturday, recording a time of 3-minutes, 49.96 seconds that was a mere .03 seconds behind George Curran at Kent State. Batey has already provisionally qualified for the 3,000-meter Steeplechase at the upcoming NCAA Championships.

Overall, Batey was responsible for 18 points Saturday, making him the third highest individual scorer at the meet behind only LeShaunte Edwards of Akron (20.50 pts) and Aaron Bartee of Eastern Michigan (20 pts.).

Erin Compton, a freshman from Oak Hill, won the MAC's women's discus title with a school-record throw of 152-feet, 1-inch on Saturday. Compton's throw was nearly five feet longer than runner-up Mary Williams of Ohio who recorded a throw of 147-feet, 10-inches and nearly three feet better than the previous school-record mark of 149-feet, six inches that she established at Virginia Tech in April. Compton went on to score another point (her 11th) with an eighth place finish in the hammer throw (151'06.00).

Several other Marshall athletes recorded some impressive performances, below is a listing of every other Marshall scorer:

Nathan Fields, a sophomore from Elkins, W.Va., finished third in the men's high jump with a personal best mark of 6-feet, 9.50-inches that was only 1.25-inches off of the winning mark set by Mike Hanson of Western Michigan. (6 points)

Josh Bradford, a senior from Poca, W.Va., recorded a fourth place finish in the pole vault with a mark of 16-feet, 4.75-inches. (5 points)

Andy Burchfield, a junior from Fairfax, Va., finished fifth in the discus with a throw of 159-feet, 1-inch. (4 points)

Kate Schulz, a junior from New Berlin, Wis., finished sixth in the high jump with a mark of 5-fett, six-inches. (3 points)

Marlon Little, a junior from Alexandria, Va., finished seventh in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.85 seconds. (2 points)

Mark Littlejohn, a sophomore from Philadelphia, Pa., finished eighth in the 100-meter dash with a time of 10.85 seconds. ( 1 point)

Alicia Cain, a junior from Winchester, Va., placed seventh in the shot put with a mark of 42-feet, 11.75-inches.


2001 Mid-American Conference Final Men's Team Scores
Eastern Michigan - 155, Western Michigan - 136, Kent State - 88, Central Michigan - 81, Akron - 74, Ball State - 70, Miami - 61, Marshall - 43, Bowling Green - 37, Buffalo - 28, Ohio - 24, Toledo - 21.

2001 Mid-American Conference Women's Team Scores
Ball State - 155, Eastern Michigan - 127, Akron - 101.50, Miami - 82.50, Kent State - 78, Central Michigan - 76, Ohio - 46, Bowling Green - 34.50, Toledo - 33, Western Michigan - 23, Marshall - 16, Buffalo - 14

Men's Most Outstanding Athlete of the Meet - Aaron Bartee - Eastern Michigan
Men's Most Valuable Performer - LeShaunte Edwards - Akron
Men's Coach of the Year - Brad Fairchild - Eastern Michigan
Women's Most Outstanding Athlete of the Meet - Andrea Kremer - Miami
Women's Most Valuable Performer - Jada Phelps and Linise Gordon - Ball State
Women's Coach of the Year - Sue Parks - Ball State