Women use Jack Skoog meet to prep for MACs
Central Michigan women’s track and field returned home for the first time in more than a month on Friday for the annual Jack Skoog Open.
Many of the premiere athletes did not compete in the open so they can rest up and prepare for the Mid-American Conference championships this weekend in Bowling Green, Ohio. The meet gave the team's younger athletes an opportunity to shine in front of the home crowd.
“It was a low key meet and gave an opportunity to a lot of our low-key athletes who haven’t had a chance to try and get some marks,” said Willie Randolph, director of track and field.
The athletes who competed on Friday and plan to take part in the conference championships this weekend were found in the field events, looking to get more repetitions before the big stage.
Seniors Kelly Christensen and Mykal Imbrock competed in the weight toss and took second and third, respectively. Christensen threw 53 feet, 6.5 inches, beating her personal best this season of 53-5. Imbrock threw 48 feet, 2 1/4 inches.
Imbrock also threw in the shot put, placing second with a throw of 40-1 1/2 inches, which is her best throw of the season. Freshmen Samantha Stein also threw in preparation for next week's pentathlon, recording a throw of 33 feet, 6 1/2 inches.
Stein also competed in the high jump, where she finished second behind former Chippewa Erika Schroll who holds the school record in the event. Stein’s best jump was 5 feet, 5 1/4 inches. Fellow freshman Brittany Yelinek took third in the event, recording a jump of 5 feet, 5 1/4 inches. Their teammate junior Misha Lamphere took fourth with a jump of 5 feet, 1 1/4 inches.
Freshman Kelly Morrissey is CMU’s top pole vaulter this season and she too competed to prepare for the MAC championships. She placed first with a jump of 10 feet, 11 3/4 inches.
“I didn’t get the height I wanted, but I’m blowing through poles, which is a good thing so I know what poles I need to be on for MAC and give me the best shot,” Morrissey said. “I didn’t get the height but I have some good things going and I’m excited."
Her teammates, freshman Brianna Ohlert and sophomore Christina Watson, placed second at 10 feet.
On the track, junior Emily Dienhart blew by everyone in the 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.16 seconds in the preliminaries.
Freshman Raquel Gibbs won the 400-meter with a time of 1:00.27, while Andrea Pawlowski, normally a hurdler, came in third with 1:03.96. The two also competed in the 200-meter, with Gibbs finishing in 26.68 seconds and Pawlowski 27.92.
In the 800-meter it was junior Veronica Garcia running away in first place with a time of 2:23.74. Freshman Courtany Hughes came in third with a time of 2:31.29.
CMU’s final event was the 3000-meter run with freshman Krista Parks finishing in first with a time of 10:12.92, senior Brittany Dixon finished second in 10:21.67 and freshman Lauren Halm finished sixth in 11:41.27.
“We’re very prepared with our minds and bodies right now. Everyone is very focused on what they have to do in order to execute when it matters,” Randolph said. “Right now, I feel we’re really ready to go.”
