Sprinters, hurdles see competition at Notre Dame meet
After having last week off, the sprinting and hurdling members of the men’s track and field team will return to action this weekend.
The members will travel to South Bend, Ind., to compete at the Meyo Invitational hosted by the University of Notre Dame. The invite is one of the largest meets the team will attend during the indoor season with athletes from some of the top schools from all around the country expected to attend.
“Meets like these make our athletes come out of their comfort zone,” said director of track and field and cross country Willie Randolph. “I’ve always been a firm believer that to be the best you have to compete against the best. And these larger meets give our athletes a chance to do that.”
Florida, Georgia, Minnesota, Alabama and Arkansas are just a few of the “bigger” schools expected to be represented this weekend in South Bend, and should give Randolph and the Chippewas a pretty good measure of how they match up with some of the top programs around the country.
Randolph hopes that competing against the next level of competition will give his athletes confidence.
“We put meets like these on our schedule to prepare our athletes for a high level of competition,” Randolph said. “We’re just trying to gain experience for the MAC championships later this month.“
The sprinters and hurdlers will have that opportunity to gain experience this weekend. Leading the Chippewas into competition is senior 600-meter runner Branden Post.
Also looking to step up this weekend are juniors Christopher Thomas, competing in the 400-meter dash, and 60-meter hurdler Charles Stinson.
Randolph also expects big things from underclassmen, like sophomore Renaldo Powell and freshman Ross Parsons in the 60-meter dash.
“I’m just trying to improve in every meet,” Parsons said. “I’m just trying to get stronger mentally and learning from the older guys on the team.”
The lone field member of the men’s team traveling to South Bend is junior jumper Kevin Bacon, who will be competing in both the long jump and the high jump.
The rest of the team will stay in Mount Pleasant and get some extra training over the weekend before the whole team travels to Grand Valley on Feb. 11.
