2008 Woodie Awards
Women win four events in first home showcase
Lutzke still sees chance to get better after meet
By: Tim Ottusch
Issue date: 1/14/08 Section: Sports
The women's track and field team won four events Friday night at the Chippewa Open in the team's first home meet of the season.
"Overall I felt as if the team went out with a lot of aggression and we all competed with a lot of heart," said senior sprinter Jenaie Edwards.
Even with the wins, coach Karen Lutzke sees room for improvement.
"We have a lot of work to do, but we have plenty of time to do it," she said.
Winning for the Chippewas were junior distance runner Libby Carpenter in the 3000-meter run (10 minutes 54.34 seconds), Edwards in the 600m race (1:34.14), freshman jumper Aleisha Leeper in the triple jump (36 feet, 2.25 inches) and the 1,600m relay team (3:59.7), composed of Edwards, sophomore sprinters Stephanie Byrne and Cara Dukes and senior sprinter Tempestt Stanford.
Freshman sprinter Jordan Dunn also had a good meet. Dunn finished second in the 60m dash (7.7 seconds) and 200m dash (26.21).
"(Dunn)'s just a competitor," Lutzke said. "There's still some things that she can work on to get even better, which is exciting."
Other underclassmen such as sophomore thrower Whitney Johnson contributed for CMU as well. Johnson finished third in the weight throw (49'1.75"), and sophomore thrower Michaela Danhoff finished third in the shot put (43'3"). Sophomore Stephanie Foster was second in the 60m hurdles (9.27 seconds), and sophomore Sarah Squires was second in the mile run (5:12.19). Dukes was second in the 400m dash (60.09).
With Leeper winning the triple jump, fellow CMU junior Jodi Matsko finished second in the event with a jump of 33 feet, 5.25 inches.
Assistant Coach Adam Kiesler said he had the jumpers run from shorter distances in the jumps, but still was happy with their performances.
"For what they did and for what I gave them to work with I think they did real well," Kiesler said.
The Chippewa Open didn't feature many of the team's distance runners. With the distance runners competing all year, Lutzke wanted to give some of the them some more time off.
"They compete three seasons; the fall, the winter and the spring. So they don't get many breaks," Lutzke said. "We want to make sure that they're ready to compete. Not only at the meet we put them in, but throughout the rest of the season."
The team travels to Akron, Ohio, next Friday to compete in the Akron Quadrangular to face Akron, Michigan and Michigan State.
Lutzke said the difficulty level will increase.
"It's going to be a tough meet, a high level of competition," Lutzke said. "But I think it will be good for us."
sports@cm-life.com
"Overall I felt as if the team went out with a lot of aggression and we all competed with a lot of heart," said senior sprinter Jenaie Edwards.
Even with the wins, coach Karen Lutzke sees room for improvement.
"We have a lot of work to do, but we have plenty of time to do it," she said.
Winning for the Chippewas were junior distance runner Libby Carpenter in the 3000-meter run (10 minutes 54.34 seconds), Edwards in the 600m race (1:34.14), freshman jumper Aleisha Leeper in the triple jump (36 feet, 2.25 inches) and the 1,600m relay team (3:59.7), composed of Edwards, sophomore sprinters Stephanie Byrne and Cara Dukes and senior sprinter Tempestt Stanford.
Freshman sprinter Jordan Dunn also had a good meet. Dunn finished second in the 60m dash (7.7 seconds) and 200m dash (26.21).
"(Dunn)'s just a competitor," Lutzke said. "There's still some things that she can work on to get even better, which is exciting."
Other underclassmen such as sophomore thrower Whitney Johnson contributed for CMU as well. Johnson finished third in the weight throw (49'1.75"), and sophomore thrower Michaela Danhoff finished third in the shot put (43'3"). Sophomore Stephanie Foster was second in the 60m hurdles (9.27 seconds), and sophomore Sarah Squires was second in the mile run (5:12.19). Dukes was second in the 400m dash (60.09).
With Leeper winning the triple jump, fellow CMU junior Jodi Matsko finished second in the event with a jump of 33 feet, 5.25 inches.
Assistant Coach Adam Kiesler said he had the jumpers run from shorter distances in the jumps, but still was happy with their performances.
"For what they did and for what I gave them to work with I think they did real well," Kiesler said.
The Chippewa Open didn't feature many of the team's distance runners. With the distance runners competing all year, Lutzke wanted to give some of the them some more time off.
"They compete three seasons; the fall, the winter and the spring. So they don't get many breaks," Lutzke said. "We want to make sure that they're ready to compete. Not only at the meet we put them in, but throughout the rest of the season."
The team travels to Akron, Ohio, next Friday to compete in the Akron Quadrangular to face Akron, Michigan and Michigan State.
Lutzke said the difficulty level will increase.
"It's going to be a tough meet, a high level of competition," Lutzke said. "But I think it will be good for us."
sports@cm-life.com
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