Track and field teams tally more MAC qualifiers at Compass Cup
Track and field stepped up in its first scored meet of the season, snagging a number of personal bests and Mid-American Conference qualifying marks.
“We’re in the process of trying to change the culture here,” said Central Michigan head coach Mark Guthrie said. “We’re starting to see our athletes buying what we’re selling, believing in the workouts, gaining confidence and getting results. We’ve made it a goal to be better than we were the week before, and we’re getting there.”
Eastern Michigan hosted the Compass Cup on Saturday in Ypsilanti, defending its home turf with first-place finishes for both the men's and women's teams.
For the men, the meet was a three-way-battle between the Chippewas, Eastern Michigan and Buffalo. CMU took second place with a score of 89.5 points, falling nearly 40 points behind EMU in first place with 128.5.
The women took third with 114.5 points, while Eastern Michigan stood far above the rest with a team score of 145. Western Michigan University (123) took second and Buffalo (112.5) finished fourth by a two-point difference.
“We had a great meet,” Guthrie said. “Not only did we do well in the scoring, but we produced a lot of good individual efforts.”
Some great performances came from senior hurdler Megan Heffner, whose career-best jump of 5-foot-8.75 was good enough to earn her first place.
“She did a great job for us in field events,” Guthrie said.
Also finishing in first place, sophomore Shaya Wilkerson edged ahead of the competition in women’s triple jump, and her leap of 39-foot-5.25 passed the MAC qualifying mark.
Senior Renaldo Powell won the men’s 60-meter hurdles with a time of 9.71.
“In general, it was a team effort,” Guthrie said. “We had a lot of great performances from every aspect of the team, and that’s what I’m looking for.”
CMU second place men’s finishers included sophomore Ziemowit Dutkiewicz in the 400-meter, junior Kyle Allindar in the 800-meter, junior Ethan Lievense in the mile and freshman Tony Armstrong in the pole vault.
In the men’s shot put, senior Alex Rose also clinched a second place and an automatic MAC-qualifier with his throw of 56-foot-7.5.
Additionally, the men’s 4x400 meter relay of senior Clay Holman, junior Curtis Mitchell, Dutkiewicz and freshman Malik Vasquez finished in second place posting a time of 3:16.47.
Sophomore Nate Ghena also grabbed a MAC automatic qualifier in the men’s 3000-meter, earning third place with a time of 8:25.08. During the race, Ghena snagged the lead with 600 meters left to go, but was beat out in a sprint to the finish by two EMU runners. This was Ghena’s second MAC qualifier, after he topped the 5K mark last weekend at the Gladstein Invitational.
“I’m very excited," Ghena said. "I wanted to have a chance on running both the 3K and 5K at the MAC meet in case they needed me, so I’m glad."
On the women’s side, freshman Kelsey Ross’s 800-meter run time of 2:14.15 ensured her a second place, and the duo of junior Breanne Lesnar and senior Krista Parks snagged second and third in the 3K, respectively. On top of her 5K automatic qualifier last week at the Gladstein Invitational, Lesnar’s time of 9:52.50 counted as the MAC mark for the 3K, her second event this season.
“My first priority was to score points for the team so that we could all do better,” Lesnar said. “I’m glad I got the MAC qualifier along with that.”
The Chippewas will compete at Akron Friday and Saturday for the Akron Invitational.
