Track and field moves forward at the Big Meet Elite
Track and field saw many personal records and Mid-American Conference qualification marks Friday at the Big Meet Elite in Allendale.
Seniors Renaldo Powell and Kelly Morrissey set personal records in their designated competitions. Powell set his in the 60 meter hurdle with a finishing score of 7.81, which was one-tenth of a second faster than his previous time.
Morrissey posted a personal record of 11 -09.75 in the pole vault competition, placing fifth.
In just about every meet this year, Powell has increased his times in one of his competitions. Each brings him closer to beating the school record in the 60 meter hurdle, standing at 6.54, which was set by Johnie Drake in 2004.
Powell was 1.27 behind the record.
“It feels so good to be so close to the school record,” Powell said.
Senior Shawntoreah Turk placed second, reaching the school record in the 400-meter dash with time of 53.76. The goal was achieved .06 faster than the previous record, which was set in 2007.
Junior Diamond Hamilton set two personal records in the 60 meter dash trials and finals finishing with a score of 7.67. Hamilton received sixth in the competition. Sophomore Breanne Lesnar placed second in the women’s 5000 meter run with a finishing time of 16:53. Freshman Kelly Schubert finished in third just seconds behind Lesnar with a time of 16:59.
Freshman Spencer Nousain met a new personal best in the 3000 meter dash with a finishing mark of 48.15. Nousain, along with Ethan Lievense, Kelly Schubert and Krista Parks all qualified for the MAC indoor championship after Friday’s meet.
“A lot of people ran lifetime and personal bests,” Powell said. “This has been one of the best meets I can remember.”
Director of track and field Mark Guthrie was pleased with the meets performance overall. This season, Guthrie has made it a goal for as many CMU track and field members to qualify for the MAC championship as possible.
“I felt the team took a step forward. We had a lot of lifetime and seasonal PRs which is what we’re looking for," Guthrie said. "Performances (tonight) were what we’ve wanted.”
Other personal bests were set on Friday by freshmen Tony Armstrong in the pole vault competition and Nicholas Malliaras in the long jump.
The Chippewas received a team rank of 45.50 which placed them second in the women’s invite. On the men’s side, CMU received a rank of 17.50 which ultimately placed the team in fourth.
The CMU track and field team will split off and attend the Silverston Invitational in Ann Arbor and the Alex Wilson Invitational in South Bend, Ind. on Saturday. The MAC Indoor track and field championship will take place from Feb. 28 through March 1 at Kent State University.
