CMU track teams look forward after disappointing weekend at Grand Valley Big Meet

The indoor track and field teams had high hopes leading into Saturday’s GVSU Big Meet.

But, especially in sports, life is not always a fair game.

With a total of 85 teams in participation this weekend in Allendale, there was nothing the Chippewas hadn’t experienced before. But the results of the meet were not necessarily what they had hoped for.

“It was not a weekend we were looking for,” said track and field director Willie Randolph. “But it’s a weekend we will grow from.”

On both Friday and Saturday, CMU had little to cheer about.

The squad already had some runners who qualified for the Mid-American Championship last week not perform at the Big Meet.

For the men, some athletes were able to stand out and find success.

Junior Tim Reynolds, who placed second in the long jump with a height of 6.82m, fouled on four of his six attempts but still managed to get the height he needed to stay near the top.

Reynolds didn’t have the same success running, as he was scratched from the 60m hurdles. He was also scratched from the heptathlon and came in 10th in the pole vault.

Also continuing to excel in his freshman season was Matt Mueller, who took sixth in the high jump with a height of 1.95m. Sophomore Ben Wynsma finished 11th in the mile run, posting a time of 4:11.60.

The Chippewas throwers and some jumpers were given a much-needed rest this weekend, as well as a few sprinters and distance runners who had earned some time off.

The women didn’t fare any better than the men did.

They also had to deal with the unfortunate circumstances of not having standout junior sprinter Shawntoreah Turk, who was forced to miss yet another meet do to illness.

Despite the lack of top results, the Chippewas still have many reasons to be optimistic as the season goes on.

The Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships will be held next week, and the outdoor track and field season is just around the corner, so CMU will not be dwelling on this one performance for long.

“We will continue to move forward as a team towards the Conference meet,” Randolph said.

The Chippewas will host the annual Jack Skoog Meet on Friday in hopes to get back on track and gain momentum from a home crowd.