Two look to make history today at NCAA Outdoor Championships
One gets his last shot at collegiate history, another looks to set a precedent.
The Central Michigan track and field team will send two individuals to Eugene, Ore., today to compete in the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Senior Greg Pilling and freshman Alex Rose will take part in the discus toss after qualifying at preliminaries.
This experience isn’t new for Pilling. He reached nationals last year, placing eighth in the discus with a distance of 183 feet, nine inches.
But after two Mid-American Conference championships, All-American status and even training with for the Olympics with Team Canada in 2008, Pilling is still without a national title.
“That’s always been a goal of this, to go in there and win a national title,” said track and field director Willie Randolph. “But it’s a goal of many other athletes across the country. You just have to go in there and put your best foot forward.”
It would be the second time a CMU athlete has won a national title since Bruno Pauletto did it in the shot put at the 1978 NCAAA Indoor Championships.
Pilling finished runner-up at the prelims in Greensboro, N.C on May 29 and later said he didn’t think he was going to place that high after entering the meet ranked sixth regionally and No. 16 in the nation.
He claimed his second consecutive indoor title at the MAC championships on May 15 in Buffalo, N.Y. Opposite of Pilling is 18-year-old freshman Alex Rose, who makes the trip after qualifying with a respectable seventh finish at prelims. This will be his first appearance on the national stage.
“It’s been very eye-opening for me,” Rose said. “In high school, I didn’t work as hard as I could have. I had the mindset early on that I wanted to help the team and I realized that I had to work a lot harder to compete at the Division 1 level.”
Despite not placing in the discus at the MAC Championships, he fouled on all three attempts, the kid from Ogemaw Heights High School was ranked Top 40 in the country before the preliminary round.
But now, a new environment and stage awaits for freshman Rose. Instead of going up some of the region’s best, the competition gets tougher. And in addition to spending much of last week practicing, the coaching staff has been working on his mental preparation.
“He’s been working on his confidence level and staying focused,” Randolph said. “(Assistant) Coach (John) Ridgway has been working on that with him, not letting his mind wander and keeping it in the right place.”
Admittedly nervous before the prelims, Rose said Pilling told him not to worry and remain focused. Today, he looks to push the nerves aside and make history as a freshman, something Pilling – a CMU record-holder in his own right – could not.
“My goal this week is to be an All-American,” Rose said. “At the same time, it’s a competition. I’m going to go there to win the thing.”
