Rose looks to start off season strong at Chippewa Open
For weeks and months leading up to the 2010-2011 track and field season, the athletes of Central Michigan’s men’s track and field team have been working relentlessly to make sure they are in peak athletic shape.
On Friday, they will finally have the opportunity to compete when CMU opens its season at the Chippewa Open in Mount Pleasant.
Field events will begin at 4 p.m. at the Jack Skoog Indoor Track inside the Indoor Athletic Complex. Running events begin at 6 p.m.
For both the men’s and women’s teams, the event will serve as a good measuring stick heading into the season.
“We will get to see what our athletes have achieved from August until now,” said CMU director of track and field Willie Randolph. “Our athletes have just been training up to this point, so this is a great opportunity to show what you can do."
The event will also allow Randolph and his staff to see how 23 freshmen on the men’s side react in their first taste of live competition.
Randolph said he sees good things coming in the future for a young men’s team. More than half the roster is made up of upperclassmen.
One of those sophomores that will need to carry the load is thrower Alex Rose. Rose qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Championships in the discus and finished runner-up in the discus at the USA Junior Outdoor Track and Field Championships over the summer.
“This is a really good time to see where people stand,” Rose said. “It gives us a chance to see where people are on the depth chart for now.”
Other underclassmen expected to step up include redshirt freshman Tecumseh Adams and sophomore sprinter Renaldo Powell.
Other returners expected to step up for the men include junior jumper Kevin Bacon, distance runner Matt Lutzke and returning conference champion Branden Post, who won the 400m hurdles with a career-best 52.40 at the MAC Outdoor Championships.
“We have so many great athletes,” Randolph said. “It just comes down to who wants to work every day and give 110 percent.”
After Friday’s event, the Chippewas are off until after Christmas break, when they host the Chip Invite on Jan. 14.
