Track and field has 'best meet' during director Guthrie’s tenure
Mark Guthrie, director of track and field, called this weekend’s meet at Indiana State University the best he has seen in his two seasons at Central Michigan University.
Both Chippewa teams placed second at the Gibson Invitational in Terra Haute, Ind. The men tallied 159.50 points and the women 135. They grabbed eleven first-place finishes in the process.
“I thought this was perhaps, in my time here, the best meet individually and the whole team,” Guthrie said. “It was a great team that took the opportunity with a great setting, a great facility, and really competed at the highest level.
“It was a great meet for both genders.”
The women were led by senior Ravyn Baxter, who won the 400-meter dash with a time of 54.64. They also picked up a win from sophomore Kelsey Ross in the 800-meter run (2:10.82).
Senior Abbey Kelto continued her dominance this season by winning the 5,000-meter event with a time of 17:03.29. Arizona State University transfer freshman Kirsten Olling finished in seventh place at 18:01.04.
Seniors Bridget Doughty (1:00.02) and Emma Fishnick (1:00.50) placed second and third, respectively, in the 400-meter hurdles.
The Chippewas’ 4x100-meter (46.58) and 4x400-meter (3:45.85) relays each placed second in the competition.
“They were better as a whole group, and that was exciting to see,” Guthrie said.
Jamaica junior Devene Brown picked up two first-place finishes in the field events. She won the shot put with a throw of 15.15 meters and also won the discus throw at 51.57 meters.
CMU picked up two more first-place finishes in the field events from sophomores Kylee Dobbelaere in the hammer throw (56.41 meters) and Kyleigh Young in the javelin throw (42.66 meters).
“There’s three weeks left before the MAC Championship,” Guthrie said. “You’ve got to start getting some performances.”
The men picked up a first-place finish in the 800-meter run from senior Kyle Allinder (1:52.99).
The men also picked up second-place finishes in the 200-meter dash from freshman Lorenzo Wells (21.76), freshman Erick Huertas in the 400-meters (47.55), and sophomore Ziemowit Dutkiewicz, in the 400-meter hurdles (51.84).
“The long hurdles were a highlight for us. They did a good job,” Guthrie said of the event ran by Dutkiewicz on the men’s side and Doughty and Fishnick on the women’s side.
The men’s 4x100-meter relay team came in second place at 40.83. However, the 4x400-meter relay which consisted of Huertas, redshirt senior Clay Holman, Dutkiewicz, and sophomore Malik Vasquez placed first with a time of 3:11.76.
Junior thrower Cole Walderzak had a busy weekend. The co-captain participated in the shot put, discus throw, and hammer throw. Walderzak won the discus at 53.32 meters and placed in second in the hammer with a throw of 62.63 meters. His co-captain and junior Dylan Banagis placed second in the discus at 51.81 meters and third in the hammer at 58.44 meters.
Junior Brandon McCleese rounded out CMU'a first-place finishes with a throw of 58.06 meters in the javelin throw.
Guthrie said the meet helped the team “continue to get better.”
"We’re making progress," Guthrie said." It’s going to be a long process and there’s a point in time where you hope that days like today become the norm. Right now, this is a big step and I’m truly proud of the entire group and their effort.”
