Track and field teams prepare for outdoor schedule
The Central Michigan University track and field teams return to the track at 3:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the Lenny Lyles/Clark Wood Invitational at the University of Louisville in Louisville, Ky.
Mark Guthrie, director of track and field, said the teams are excited to get back into the swing of things after a month off.
Guthrie said the offseason consisted of rigorous training, while time off was used to heal injuries and build stamina.
“We went back to the weight room,” Guthrie said. “We went back to increased volume for the workload. We gave them a week off (after the indoor season) and let them heal up a little bit. Now we’re getting back into turning them over a little bit and hoping we get some track meets in.”
The Chippewas return to the oval after a disappointing finish at the Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships.The men finished in last place, while the women placed eighth out of 12 teams.
Guthrie said his team will “turn the page” and look forward to competing for seeds in the MAC Outdoor Championships, which is held May 14-16 at Ball State University in Muncie, Ind.
“We’ll see where we’re at and we’ll build from there,” he said. “We have seven weeks until we are at the MAC meet. We have seven opportunities to build on whatever happens this weekend.”
With the outdoor season comes several new events not on the indoor schedule, such as the javelin, discus and 4x100-meter relay.
“Most mistakes (during the outdoor season) are technical,” Guthrie said. “You try to fix some issues that you had indoors. It’s not as much fixing as it is adaptation.”
In addition to the Louisville meet this weekend, the Chippewas’ outdoor slate includes meets at Indiana State University in April and at Ohio State University in May, as well as a three-team meet in Kalamazoo between rival Western Michigan University and Purdue University.
This weekend’s action will have to combat cold temperatures, as it is expected to be around 40 degrees in Louisville. Guthrie says the temperature, and the top Division 1 competition, cannot be a factor for his squads.
“For those that had an event indoors, it’s just a new season,” Guthrie said. “Everything starts over now. It’s the excitement of what can you build on.”
