Track teams prepare for tough opponent in Eastern Michigan
For the first time this season, the Central Michigan track and field teams will compete against a Mid-American Conference school on Saturday.
Eastern Michigan, CMU and Oakland will compete in the Eastern Michigan Triangular in their first scored meet of the year.
The Eagles are favored over the Chippewas, as the preseason MAC rankings had EMU’s women and men placed first and second respectively while ranking CMU in fifth in both polls. Oakland is a member of the Horizon League.
Last year’s meet resulted in a tie between CMU and EMU.
“The whole team has to step up,” said Head Coach Mark Guthrie. “Two athletes score in every event for each school, so it’s those small battles that will take place in each event that is going to come together and give you that team score.”
The first and only meet of the season so far for the Chippewas was on Dec. 4 in the Holiday Classic at Saginaw Valley State. Saturday’s meet will determine which runners will travel with the team for larger, more competitive meets later in the season.
“The first two meets of the year, we are doing everything we can to get 100 percent of our runners into the competition,” Guthrie said. “Those two meets will set up a depth chart. As we get to the more important meets, we will take the athletes who have risen to the top and have shown they can compete at a high level.”
This meet is structured differently than most collegiate track meets today with only three teams participating, something Guthrie said he is excited about.
“(This) is what track and field used to be,” Guthrie said. “Track and field when I grew up was head-to-head competition, with a score at the end and the whole event could take place in two to two-and-a-half hours. Today, you traditionally have unscored meets that last many hours, which is not attractive to the athlete, coach or spectator. This is a great meet that gives our student-athletes a chance to see what (track and field) used to be.”
The Eastern Michigan Triangular in Ypsilanti begins with field events starting at 10 a.m. and track events starting at 1 p.m.
