Central Michigan University Athletics
Women's Track Opens Outdoor Season
3/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
March 19, 2002
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THE TEAM?The Central Michigan University women's track and field team will travel to Carbondale, Ill., to take part in an eight-team meet on March 23. This is the first outdoor meet of the season. Other teams competing in the scored meet are Eastern Illinois, Indiana State, Missouri, Missouri-Kansas City, Kansas, Northern Iowa and Southern Illinois.
THE COACHING STAFF?The CMU women's track and field program is led by head coach Kathleen Raske and assistant coaches Karen Lutzke and Larry Levine. Raske led the Chippewas to a MAC championship in the 2002 indoor season and won MAC "Coach of the Year" and Regional "Coach of the Year" honors. Lutzke was named MAC cross country ?Coach of the Year? after helping the squad to the 2000 MAC championship while Levine, who is in his fifth year, works with the throwers and directs CMU's strength and conditioning program for the throwing events.
INDOOR RECAP ? The Central Michigan University women's track team had the most successful season of any other in the history of women's track at CMU.
The Chippewas finished the indoor season with their first-ever MAC championship. Although there were no CMU individual MAC champions, the team scored 122 points, 21 more than the second-place finisher.
High jumper Suzy Bozin had an outstanding season where she broke her own school record with a 6-0 mark and automatically qualified for the NCAA Championships. She earned All-America honors with a sixth-place finish at the national championships. She cleared 5-9 1/4 at nationals.
Head coach Kathleen Raske was the first Chippewa women's track coach to be named MAC indoor ?Coach of the Year.? She also added a Great Lakes Regional ?Coach of the Year? honor to her resume.
Throughout the indoor season Chippewa athletes set nine school records and sent two athletes, Bozin and Maria Derezinski, to the NCAA Championship meet. Setting school marks were Jackie Bozin (Pentathlon), Suzy Bozin (high jump), Derezinski (long jump, triple jump), Kia Johnson (60m, 200m), Kari Karhoff (400m), Amanda Storck (pole vault) and the 1,600m relay squad.
LOOKING FOR BIGGER THINGS ? ?I think we're going to have a better team in the outdoors than we did indoors. We pick up a two-time MAC shotput champion in Melissa Brousseau. She can score in three events. We're well-rested after taking off a week following the MAC indoor meet. We've been able to get outside and work a lot on basics. We're trying to lay a foundation for the rest of the season."
OUTSTANDING COACHING ? Women's track coach Kathleen Raske was named the Great Lakes Region ?Coach of the Year? by the United States Track Coaches Association.
