Tag Archives: track and field

COLUMN: Catch up with track and field, if you can

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Adam Niemi/Staff Reporter

I’m convinced that the Central Michigan track and field long-distance runners could outrun Twitter trends.

A recent trend: CMU track and field distance shattering records.

There are three reasons to watch track and field this season:

  1. Let’s be serious — the basketball program is not good at all. Lately their games remind me of The Hangover. After the game, I’m left wondering what the hell just happened.
    And word on the street is that Trey Zeigler’s bricks from all his missed free throws will be used to build the new graduate housing facility on north campus.
  2. The long-distance runners on the current team are among the Chippewas best ever. Seven records have been set by distance runners, indoor and outdoor, since 2007. That’s including three this season – two in the past eight days. That’s not including sprints or field events.
    Two of the recent records include sophomore distance runner Tecumseh Adams, who set his second CMU record in as many weeks. On Friday, he set a record in the 3k with a time of 8:02.39.
    The week before he set a 5k record at the University of Indiana with a time of 13:53.08, the first time a CMU runner finished that race in under 14 minutes.
    Senior distance runner Holly Anderson also set a 5k record Friday with a time of 16:49.93.
    Don’t forget Josh Kettlewell, the senior multi-event athlete who shattered the previous heptathlon record by over 300 points. Track and field athletes are purely breaking records almost faster than it can be recorded.
  3. Track and field is one of the few sports where athletes are encouraged to focus on themselves for the good of the team. Track and field is an individual sport where being slightly selfish is part of the success. The only other sport I can think of with that kind of team structure is golf. Good luck staying awake for that. The blasts of the gun to start each race will keep you awake and alert the whole time.
    Oh, and you ever see someone pole vault 17 feet? That’s first floor to the second floor of the library, but don’t try it.

Basketball games are a marathon. Or a boxing match, if you prefer women’s games.

Adams, Anderson set two CMU distance records at Notre Dame

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Central Michigan long-distance runners Tecumseh Adams and Holly Anderson each set long distance records Friday at the Meyo Inviational in South Bend, Ind.

Anderson, senior distance runner, set a 5k record with a time of 16:49.93.

“(Assistant) coach (Matt) Kaczor was excited about the record,” Anderson said. “But neither of us were happy about the race.”

Anderson said she aimed to run in the low 16:40′s.

“There were some parts where I didn’t make moves that I should have,” she said.

Sophomore distance runner Adams set a 3k record with a time of 8:02.39.

Three distance records have been set so far this season – two in the past eight days.

Anderson said the 5k time is also her personal record by about 20 seconds. She said the personal record, or PR, is an authoritative mark of success.

“PR is really exciting because you put so much work into getting them,” Anderson said. “The races are really a culmination of what you do all day every day, so it’s really the best indicator.”

Senior thrower Kevin Mays set a career-best weight throw Friday in Findlay, Ohio with a distance of 67-06.25. Although his first five throws were foul, Mays said he didn’t lose confidence because the foul throws were as far as he’s thrown all season.

“The level of competition helped me focus,” Mays said. “I didn’t want to embarrass myself or my team.”

Nike-sponsored professional thrower A.G. Krueger threw the best distance of 80-11.75. Mays and Krueger both competed in the elite section of the weight throw.

In the other weight throw section, senior Ryan McCullough and sophomore Calvin Jackson both finished third and fourth respectively. McCullough threw 60-01.75, and Jackson threw 57-11.

Mays said he has high confidence going into the week and upcoming meets, but still must focus on fundamentals. Weight throwing requires a fine touch and repetition like a pitcher in baseball, he said.

“I think that’s the most important thing for me is to focus on my technique and my control,” Mays said.

At Notre Dame, sophomore Ross Parsons finished eleventh in the 60-meter dash with a time of 6.93.

Freshman Lucas Bade finished fifth in the 500-meter with a time of 1:04.43.

Track and field focus on ‘big weekend’

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Willie Randolph looked at a two-year-old photo on the windowsill in his office and named the athletes by seeing just their hands.

The photo, taken during a team huddle at the end of the 2009 track and field Mid-American Conference championship, is clogged with arms and hands. Central Michigan director of track and field, Randolph, pointed around the photo and listed the names of the athletes’ hands and arms reaching from every direction to the center of the team.

Randolph said he takes the same eye for detail he uses to recognize those in an old photo, to watching his players in practice and prepare strategies for them to pursue in upcoming meets, like this weekend at Findlay and Notre Dame.

It is also the first major adjustment for the team, Randolph said, as they prepare for the first pair of meets against high-level competition as a complete team. The sprint, jump and distance athletes will travel to Notre Dame for the Meyo Invitational Friday afternoon.

Throwers will travel to Findlay, Ohio for the Findlay Open the same day.

“You pay attention to the little things that make big things happen,” Randolph said.

He said this is the part of the season when it is important for athletes to sharpen and maintain their focus ahead of the championship meets.

“The biggest thing is the focus, attitude and execution,” Randolph said, who emphasizes that those three elements factor as importantly as actual performance.

Senior thrower Kevin Mays said professional throwers, like A.G. Kreuger, will also compete in Findlay in a meet he considers the biggest so far this season.

“This is a pretty big weekend for us,” Mays said. “Findlay is a D-II school, but they have the invite section, so the competition will be tough. It’s going to feel like a national meet because of the level of competition.”

Two track and field records set over the weekend

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A couple of Central Michigan men’s track and field athletes entered the weekend eyeing a couple records.

Two reached those goals.

At the Penn State National Saturday, senior multi-event athlete Josh Kettlewell won the seven-event heptathlon with a career-high score of 5,673, which broke a CMU 13-year record.

“He set the multi record, that’s for sure,”  assistant coach Matt Kaczor said. “With all the work he’s put in, it’s nice to see the rewards.”

The score was 300 points higher than both the runner-ups Saturday, and the previous CMU record. The record was set in 1998 by Nathan Parker.

Kettlewell won the 60 meter hurdles with a personal-best time of 8.33. He also finished fourth in the 1000 meter run with a time of 2:42. He marked 16-10.75 in the pole vault.

At Indiana, sophomore distance runner Tecumseh Adams also set a school record Saturday.

He finished second place in the 5k event with a time of 13:53.08 in Bloomington, Ind. He said Thursday he was aiming for a sub-fourteen minute race to give him a good chance of qualifying for the NCAA Championship in March.

It was the first 5k under 14 minutes in CMU history.

The 5k automatic qualifier for the NCAA Championship is 13:44. The top-17 runners in the nation are selected. Adams said he will not know for a while his time qualifies.

“My time might make it in,” he said. “I have a pretty good chance. Last year, my time was the final spot (in the championship).”

Coach Kaczor, who traveled with Adams to Indiana, said the drive there was not a problem.

“We try to keep it as simple as possible,” he said. “When we got there, you could see his nerves a little bit about a half-hour before the race, but I just reminded him he’s been training for it.”

Adams said during the race, there was a “rabbit,” a runner who leads and sets the pace. It helped him settle into a pace. He averaged 4:27 per mile.

He said his techniques to stay focused in the race include studying other runners’ shoes and jerseys.

“It really helped me to have the rabbit pull me along,” Adams said. “The last three minutes I was struggling, but I focused on the techniques I talked about before to stay in it.”

Kaczor said the team can do nothing but work harder than it has before.

“You just got to keep moving forward,” he said. “Like I told Tec, ‘You won and you have a day to celebrate, then it’s back to work.’ When you run well like that, people know you the next time you run, you have to keep working.”

Tecumseh Adams competing for spot in NCAA championship

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When Tecumseh Adams runs a track race, he is not focused solely on race strategy.

He reads the brand names on opponents’ jerseys, or the colors of the shoes they wear.

“Sometimes when I’m running, I’ll study people’s shoes or jerseys to take my mind off the amount of laps we have to do,” Adams said.

Adams, a sophomore distance runner on the CMU track and field team, won an individual Mid-American Conference championship in cross-country last fall.

He will compete today at the Indiana Relays at the University of Indiana for a spot in the 5k event in the NCAA Indoor Championship in March.

“I’m feeling pretty good,” Adams said. “My training has been good.”

Adams took a week off between the cross-country and track and field seasons. He said he is aiming to finish with a time around 13:50, which is about 20 seconds faster than his personal best.

“Most of the guys I was running with in cross were sub-14 runners,” he said. “And I’ve always been a pretty good track runner.”

Adams said he has spoken repeatedly with assistant coach Matt Kaczor about his race strategy.

“Me and my coach, Kaczor, have been talking about times, and where I should be at different parts of the race,” he said. “My coach is basically saying to follow the leaders within reaching distance, and not get separated.”

Apart from Adams, the Central Michigan men’s and women’s track and field teams will be intentionally limited by director of track and field and cross-country Willie Randolph.

Randolph said the team is at its point in the season where it bears down on fundamentals to prepare for a run at a MAC championship.

“If we can relax ourselves and focus on the things we have to do, the execution will come a whole lot easier,” Randolph said.

Among the 15 competing athletes this weekend are senior multi-event athlete Josh Kettlewell and sophomore multi-event athlete Tim Reynolds, who will both compete at the Penn State National today and Saturday in College Station, Penn.

It will be Kettlewell’s and Reynold’s first multi-event meets of the season.

Randolph said he has no concern about the athletes performing without the company and support of their teammates.

“It’s a bunch of basketball and football games,” Randolph said about track and field as a sport. “You can’t stop and take a timeout. It’s always going on – it’s happening.”

Men’s track and field team places second at Harvey Invite

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The Central Michigan men’s track and field team finished second place out of four teams at the Jack Harvey Invitational on Friday in Ann Arbor.

The Chippewas competition included Michigan, Eastern Michigan and Detroit Mercy.

Senior multi-event athlete Josh Kettlewell set a personal best in pole vault with a 17-01 vault. He nearly matched the indoor pole vault record of 17-06.

Despite the women’s event went unscored, both CMU teams provided strong performances, with 10 top-five finishes out of 16 events.

Senior thrower George Flanner finished first in the shot-put with a distance of 51-00.25. Senior thrower Kevin Mays also finished first in the weight throw event with a distance of 64-07.25.

Tecumseh Adams won the mile run for the men’s team with a time of 4:12.82, less than a second within his personal best. Senior jumper Kevin Bacon won the long jump with a distance of 21-08.25.

Some of the women’s best performances came in the 3,000 meter. Senior long-distance runner Holly Anderson finished first with a time of 9:58.17. Anderson’s teammate, sophomore long-distance runner Krista Parks, finished in third in the same event with a time of 10:16.34.

The women’s team also finished second in the 400-meter relay, with a composite time of 3:57.9.

Senior Stephanie Hurley won the 400-meter dash with a season-best time of 58.02.

The men’s and women’s track and field team will compete Friday at The Cardinal invitational in Saginaw.

Cross country runners join the track team, last shot at a MAC title

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Willie Randolph stood on the track beside Matt Kaczor and the two shouted, waved their arms and encouraged runners passing by.

“Get there, get by them,” the director of track and field, Randolph, yelled along with his assistant coach, Kaczor.

That was Friday, when the Central Michigan men’s and women’s track and field teams both finished in first place over Detroit Mercy, Oakland University, Macomb Community College and Aquinas College.

Randolph and Kaczor know it’s another season to aim for a Mid-American Conference championship. They know that the seniors have one final chance at a title.

For Holly Anderson, it’s her last chance.

Anderson, a senior long-distance runner, said she wants a MAC championship before she leaves CMU in May.

Also a cross-country runner, Anderson and the cross-country team came in second place at the MAC championships in the fall for the second-straight year.

The women’s track and field team finished in fourth during the MAC championships in May 2010. The last MAC title in either indoor or outdoor was 2004.

The last chance for Anderson, the cross-country runners and the rest of the track and field team has arrived. Anderson is one of four seniors from the cross-country team running track and field.

“I’m really excited,” Anderson said. “It was a really great winter of training.”

She finished first in the one-mile run Friday with at time of 5:04.86. Senior runner Veronica Garcia finished in third place with a time of 5:17.88.

Anderson said running long-distance track and field is a lot different from cross-country.

“There’s not the time (in track and field) like you have in a cross-country race,” she said.

She said the strategy differs between cross-country and distance track because of the shorter amount of time. A mile run in track and field, she said, feels more like a sprint.

Kaczor said the team is progressing, but still saw things he said were “far from perfect.” He also expected to see some rust in the first meet of the season.

“They ran really well, but it’s the beginning of January, so you have to take it with a grain of salt,” Kaczor said.

Despite the imperfections he and Randolph observed, there’s an overriding reason they cheer on the runners with so much energy.

“These kids pour their heart and soul into the track,” Kaczor said. “How can you not support them when they put so much work into what they do?”

Men’s and women’s track and field easily hurdle Chip Invite

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The goal going into the night was to see how the Central Michigan men’s and women’s track and field teams could compete after an onerous week in practice.
Both CMU teams responded with impressive performances finishing first out of five teams at the Chippewa Invitational.
Detroit Mercy, Oakland University, Macomb Community College and Aquinas were also at the event.
“The focus was not so much on the performances as much as it was the mentality to compete in spite of your body not being completely where you want it to be at this time of the year,” said Willie Randolph, the director of track and field.”
The Chippewas won with a score of 187 points. Detroit Mercy finished a distant second with 107 points.
The men’s team won 217.666 points over second-place Detroit Mercy which earned 84.
“It’s always going to be a confidence booster when you can see that even when you aren’t feeling fresh, you can still compete at a high level and win,” Randolph said.
CMU women’s team also won easily, by a margin of 80 with a score of 187.
Two Chippewas dominated the men’s weight throw taking the top two scores. Senior Kevin Mays had a score of 19.1 meters and sophomore Calvin Jackson finished second.
“He was a monster out there,” Oakland senior Anthony Gallegos said about Mays.
CMU senior Kevin Bacon finished first in men’s long jump and triple jump finishing at 6.88 meters and 13.24 meters
respectively. He wasn’t content with the first-place finishes though.
“It was a win, but I’m not exactly happy with the marks yet,” Bacon said.  “I’m not satisfied, but it was a good start.”
Bacon hopes this year the team can pull it all together and succeed.
“I came here to win and be part of a winning team,” he said.  “And we are doing it this year.  We’re trying to win an outdoor and indoor MAC (championship), we’re trying to go to nationals. We’re trying to be a team that wins, not just a bunch of individuals.”
Fellow CMU senior Kirlene Roberts won the women’s 60 meter dash and also finished fifth in the 200 meter dash.
“I was happy with how I performed,” Roberts said.  “I have to work on my finishes but it was good. I’m at a good place as far as training and form-wise.”
Roberts believes the team chemistry early in the season is at a healthy level.
“Our chemistry is great,” Roberts said.  “We strive to be a drama free team. We strive to be united with another.  No matter who you are or where you are from, we are a team.”
Three Chippewas finished in the top three for men’s pole vault, sophomore Tim Reynolds notched the top spot.
Sophomore Megan Heffner and senior Misha Lamphere tied for first in women’s high jump with scores of 1.58 meters.
CMU track and field will go to Ann Arbor for the Simmon’s Harvey-Invitational next Saturday at noon.

Only Rose qualifies for NCAA track and field nationals

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One of four Central Michigan track and field athletes at the NCAA Outdoor Track and Field East Regionals emerged with a shot at a national championship.

“(The athletes) competed at their highest level and we were pretty proud,” said track and field director Willie Randolph.

Sophomore Alex Rose finished third in the discus with a throw of 186 feet. He will represent CMU for the second time in his career at the outdoor championships in Des Moines, Iowa.

“I felt really confident about my throws at regionals,” Rose said. “They really put me in a good position for nationals”

The Chippewas saw the end of senior Mykal Imbrock’s career as the hammer toss record holder finished 14th out of 48 with a toss of 189 feet.

“She is a very solid person, very focused and driven,” Randolph said. “It’s unfortunate that she doesn’t have another year because we feel she still has more.”

Junior Ryan McCullough, who played a big role in the men’s third place finish at the Mid-American Conference Outdoor championships, competed in the hammer toss where he holds the school record. He also competed in the discus.

The junior was able to finish in the top 15 of the region in the hammer toss, with a throw of 198 feet, but it wasn’t enough to qualify for nationals.

Both McCullough and Imbrock did place well enough to qualify for a spot at nationals if any participants ahead of them were to drop out before the competition.

Sophomore Maddie Ribant broke the school record in the steeplechase at the prestigious Penn Relays this season and competed at regionals with a time of 10:53.52, which was good enough to put her in the top 40 athletes of its region.

Rose will head to the University of Iowa to compete for the national championship in the discus for the second year in a row. Rose came into regionals ranked sixth in the entire nation.

“I have a really good chance at nationals; I know a lot of the guys and they’re great competitors but I’ll be right there with them,” Rose said. “I’m not going to walk in like a freshman, I’m going to step into the ring and compete like I always do.”

Men finish third, women come in 10th at MAC Outdoor Championships

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The Central Michigan men’s track and field team finished third at the Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championships in Dekalb, Ill. from May 12 to 14, though the 10th-place women fared worse.

For the first time since 2006, CMU took third place with 119 points, trailing Kent State and Akron, with Akron winning the conference championship.

“A lot of the underclassmen did a great job and we were excited for them and the future of the program,” said track and field director Willie Randolph.

More than half of the team’s points came from underclassman athletes. None of the points came from nationally ranked sophomore Alex Rose in the discus.

Freshman Ross Parsons took fourth in both the 100- and 200-meter dash at 10.52 and 21.33 seconds, both personal bests.

He joined freshman Ryan Brooks and sophomores Renaldo Powell and Greg Knaus for another fourth-place finish and a personal-best time.

Brooks had a personal best in the 100-meter as well, with a time of 10.62, finishing sixth. Meanwhile, Knaus got a personal best of his own in the 200-meter, finishing seventh clocking in at 21.59.

“It was an awesome experience,” Parsons said. “I just competed to the best of my abilities and it was an awesome feeling to be a part of 23 points.”

Fellow freshman Tecumseh Adams got CMU’s only first-place finish with a personal best in the 1500-meter at 3:54.60. He also took second in the 5000-meter at 15:11.59.

Throwers were one of CMU’s strongest efforts in track and field coming into the championship and they did not disappoint with junior Ryan McCullough leading the way.

McCullough got a personal best in the discus, placing fifth with a throw of 170 feet and eight inches, and third in the hammer toss with a throw of 196-07 feet. Junior Kevin Mays achieved his own personal best, finishing seventh with 188-09 feet.

Senior George Flanner came in fourth in the shot put with a personal best of 54-06 3/4 feet, while Rose finished sixth in the event with 53-10 1/2 feet and senior John Calvert finished seventh with 53-5 3/4 feet.

Freshman Kyle Smith, who finished first in javelin at the Len Paddock invitational May 7 at the University of Michigan, continued with a personal best throw of 203-05 feet, earning another CMU record.

“Getting third place was a huge accomplishment, but we’re only going to get better,” Parsons said.

Women finish 10th

Two senior women’s track and field members set school records, as one of few bright spots for the women at the championships.

Senior Mykal Imbrock finished fourth in the hammer toss with 190 feet and seven inches, outdoing her CMU record-breaking previous best at Oklahoma.

“I knew it was good, but I really didn’t know it was that far,” Imbrock said. “They say your good ones don’t feel that far, but they are because of your technique.”

Senior Shanaye Carr broke alumna Tamera Thomas’ 14.24-second, 100-meter hurdle record from 2006. Carr finished third at 13.77.

Juniors Kirlene Roberts and Dierra Riley, along with seniors Jordan Dunn and Brittnee Shreve, took part in the 4×100-meter relays and took third place with a time of 46.25.

Kent State won the championships, beating runner-up Eastern Michigan by one point. Miami took third.

“We had a lot of women do some good things, but we graduated a lot of people last season and we knew we were lacking in some areas,” Randolph said.

Men’s track set to host the Lyle Bennett Open

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For more than two months, the Central Michigan men’s track and field team has been traveling throughout the country in preparation for the Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championships that will take place in the middle of next month.

On Saturday, that preparation continues in their own backyard as the team hosts the Lyle Bennett Open — its only home outdoor meet of the season.

The meet will feature teams from all over the state of Michigan including Michigan State, Northwood, Lake Superior State, Alma, Ferris State and Detroit.

The meet will give the Chippewas an opportunity to compete as a full team, something they will need to do efficiently to have any success at next months MAC championships.

“Every meet right now is extremely crucial,” director of track and field Willie Randolph said. “We need to have everyone in place and competing at a high level in order to to great things this year.”

The men’s team looks to continue its trend of good performances in team competition. CMU won two meets this year, including last weeks competition in Kentucky, which they beat defending Big East Conference Champion Louisville and perennial Sun Belt Conference Champion Western Kentucky

“We have gotten a lot of confidence from winning those meets,” Randolph said. “But right now we just need to go in and take  care of business, were going to try and win the meet, but the main thing is making it happen when it counts the most.”

The Chippewas will have all of their top talent on display at this weekends home meet. They will be led by standout sophomore thrower Alex Rose, who currently sits fifth in the country in the discus throw. Fellow thrower Ryan McCullough is also a strong candidate to win the hammer throw event.

Young sprinters like freshman Ross Parsons, Cory Noeker and Sophmores Renaldo Powell and Greg Knaus are also expected to place high.

The distance runners are led by redshirt freshman Tecumseh Adams.

The meet is scheduled to begin at 10 a.m with field events. The meet will be free of charge.

CM Life men’s track and field athlete of the year: Alex Rose

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Alex Rose

The sophomore thrower has consistently been one of the top performers on the men’s team since he arrived on campus last year. He is the favorite to win the Mid-American Conference Ourdoor Championships next month.

The West Branch native currently sits fifth in the country in the discus throw with a toss of 192 feet and seven inches. He set the career best mark earlier this season at the Ed Adams Invitational, one of two meets he has won so far this year.

He was named MAC Athlete of the Week on April 5. In addition to the discus, Rose currently sits third in the coference in the shot put. Last summer he competed in the discus for team USA at the International Association of Athletics Federations World Junior Championships in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada.

Honorable Mention: Mykal Imbrock

Imbrock, in her senior year has blossomed as a thrower for CMU. She set the school record in the hammer throw on April 15 at the John Jacobs Invitational with a throw of 187 feet. The Hamler, Ohio native currently sits fifth in the MAC in the event. She set a new career best in the weight throw at the 2011 MAC Indoor Championships.

Honorable Mention: Ryan McCullough

The current school record holder in the hammer throw with a throw of 202 feet five inches, a record he broke on April 15 at the John Jacobs Invitational.  The Cadillac native has consistently improved his personal best in the event since the start of the outdoor season.

He won the hammer throw at the Toledo Collegiate Challenge on April 2. He also set a career best in the weight throw at the 2011 Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships where he finished fourth.