Track and field outdoor season set to begin
Track and field has not had an outdoor practice yet due to the frigid weather.
Despite the lack of fresh air, the Chippewas begin the outdoor season Friday at the Louisville Open in Louisville, Ky.
“This is the first time since 1976 I have ever not been on an outdoor track before going to an outdoor meet,” said director of track and field Mark Guthrie.
Guthrie said the meet will be a good gauge of where the team is at athletically after the conclusion of the indoor season.
The men’s team will enter the season without senior Renaldo Powell because his eligibility expired after competing on the indoor track team. Powell is a two-time individual Mid-American Conference champion in the 60-meter hurdles, and holds the school record for the event with a time of 7.74.
“You can’t just replace a kid like Renaldo, and we’re going to lose those 10 points, but we are going to have to manufacture those points through several individuals,” Guthrie said.
Last year, the men’s team finished sixth at the MAC Outdoor Championship. Senior Parker Scott was CMU’s only MAC champion, finishing first in the men’s 400-meter hurdles with a time of 51.77.
On the women’s side, the team will look to build on an eighth place finish at the MAC Outdoor Championship. Junior Bridget Doughty earned a fifth-place finish with a time of 1:00.72 in the 400-meter hurdles, and senior Samantha Stein achieved a mark of 5-foot-5 in the high jump.
Doughty’s personal goal is to improve her time this year and get in the 58-second range.
“Guthrie is leading us really well and thinking realistically," Doughty said. "Even in indoor we jumped up so far and that got us really excited. As a team, we're hoping to knock more teams out of our way when it comes to the MAC in the outdoor meets.”
The weather has challenged the team’s transition from the indoor season to the outdoor season.
“We have been training for an outdoor event inside because of the weather, which has been difficult,” Doughty said.
