Our first conversation went badly.

“Who are the key players, er, guys, er .,” I stammered over the phone to men’s track coach Jim Knapp.

He interrupted before I could finish the question.

“We don’t have any key athletes,” he said, sternly. “We’re a team.

Men’s track coach Jim Knapp will get his wish.

Just two weeks before the MAC Championships in Akron, the entire men’s track team will travel to Columbus for this weekend’s Jesse Owens Classic, the 15th annual meeting of the prestigious event.

This is the first time in three weeks the team is together as one, something Knapp enjoys.

Oz Lifshitz gushed with excitement just thinking about the upcoming Mid-American Conference Championships.

The Israel native now is two years into his stay in the United States, a country he never traveled to before.

“I’m more relaxed now,” the sophomore jumper said.

The sound exploded throughout the indoor track – the kind of unusually loud, ’something just happened’ sound that can capture an entire crowd’s attention at any given moment.

It was Jan. 11, 2008, at the Chippewa Open. Athletes and spectators alike stopped what they were doing, turned toward the center of the track and wondered what just took place.

The men’s track and field team welcomed the warm temperatures in California and this weekend’s mid-70 degree weather in Michigan.

While a small group of athletes competed in California, the majority of the team competed in Ypsilanti.

Across the country at the Mt.

Whenever redshirt freshman quarterback Ryan Radcliff was not on the field navigating the offense, he could be found by starting quarterback Dan LeFevour, taking in whatever he could.

Radcliff and sophomore Derek Rifenbury ended the spring portion of their competition for the backup job by taking turns leading the offense up and down the field.

For the second time in two weeks, the men’s track team is splitting up during a weekend. This time, the two groups will compete nearly 2,500 miles away from one another.

Four athletes will have their hand in another elite meet, traveling to Walnut, Calif.

This weekend, the men’s track team will get into two buses and head south on Interstate 75. One bus will stop in Oxford, Ohio. The other one will continue to Knoxville, Tenn.

The Chippewas send eight of their top competitors to attend the Sea Ray Relays, hosted by the University of Tennessee, while the rest of the team heads to the Miami Invitational.