Track and field teams head to Pennsylvania
Last week at Indiana State University, the Central Michigan University track and field teams claimed 11 first-place finishes. Director Mark Guthrie said it was the best meet in his two years with the program.
CMU hopes to garner the same praise from its coach as they split up into three separate directions.
The Chippewas will head to three different locations this weekend. A “select group” will compete at the Penn Relays at 10 a.m. Thursday and Friday at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Pa. Throwers will toss at the Ashland Alumni Open at 11 a.m. Friday and 10 a.m. Saturday at Ashland University in Ashland, Ohio.
The rest of the team will compete in a Mid-American Conference atmosphere as they will run at the RedHawk Invitational at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. That contest is slated for a 10 a.m. start.
“We were going to go to Drake,” Guthrie said. “They couldn’t verify a couple of things that I wanted. We weren’t sure we were going to get into the races we wanted to be in.”
Guthrie said the Penn Relays will include some of CMU’s performers in the 5,000-meters, 10,000-meters, 3,000-meter steeplechase and the 4x400-meter relay teams on both sides.
He said the Penn Relays is one of the top track events in the world, as even high schools in Jamaica travel to compete in the over 100-year-old competition. It showcases the top high school, college and world track and field talent over a three-day span.
“We could run school records and set PRs and we’re not going to win an event,” Guthrie said. “The meet is just that good. It’s a great meet.”
CMU has had solid performances all-around thus far this outdoor season, combining for 30 first-place finishes the last two weeks. Guthrie credits his coaching staff for guiding a young roster.
“I think the results are coming because a lot of young people are putting in a lot of hard work,” Guthrie said. “I sent (the coaches) a special note Sunday night where I said as exciting as Friday and Saturday was, if we are going to continue to grow this program and be better, that’s got to become a normal day.
“That has to just be what the expectation is. They’ve got to take that next step.”
Guthrie said the key to having success in track and field is to have everybody on the same page on the most important day, which is the MAC Outdoor Championships in May.
“There’s all these different balls as far as workouts and stresses and all this stuff,” Guthrie said. “The true art of coaching is getting all of those balls lined up so they are where they need to be the days that matter the most. To me, when I speak going around the country, that is the art of coaching.”
Guthrie is already gearing up for the big event, which is scheduled to take place May 14-16 in Muncie, Ind. He said track is all about beating people on the most important day, and believes his team is going in the right direction.
“I’m proud of the progress that we’ve made but we’ve got a long way to go,” Guthrie said. “I’m truly happy from last weekend because I thought they did a great job of buying in. They’re starting to figure out and understand it.”
For the student-athletes who will not qualify for the MAC Outdoor Championships, Guthrie said that this weekend will most likely be their last chance to run this season.
“We’re just trying to be better,” Guthrie said. “We’re trying to find better marks and trying to be a better person they can be. For a lot of our kids, this will be the last meet. This is a big weekend for several of those reasons.”
