Central Michigan University Athletics
Men's Track Closes Out Indoor Season
3/4/2003 12:00:00 AM | MTF
March 4, 2003
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THE TEAM - The Central Michigan University men's track team is hoping that a couple of athletes will qualify for the NCAA championship meet to be held on March 14 and 15 on the campus of the University of Arkansas.
The Chippewas currently have two athletes that have provisionally qualified for the NCAA meet. Pat Walderzak (Frankenmuth/Sr.) in the shot put (58-3 3/4) and Clive Roberts (Scarborough, Ont./Sr.) in the 60m hurdles (7.88) both hope that their marks will hold up.
The rest of the team will take a couple of weeks off to prepare for the start of the outdoor track and field season which will begin on April 5 at Notre Dame.
MAC CHAMPIONSHIP RECAP - The Chippewas provided an excellent showing at the MAC championship meet last weekend at Kent State University. CMU only finished behind Eastern Michigan, who won its eighth straight title.
The Chippewas had 22 different athletes finish in the top eight and score points towards the team score.
CMU finished with 125.50 points while the champions from Eastern Michigan scored 153.50.
The Chippewas' lone individual champion was Ian Searcy (Canton/Sr.). He took home the top spot in the 800m with a time of 1:49.62. Searcy was also a member of the 4x400m relay team that finished in third place with a time of 3:14.32.
Soji Jibowu (Saginaw/So.) also scored a new school record with his performance in the 400m. He finished in fifth place with a time of 47.61.
Jibowu was also a member of the 4x400m relay team, along with taking fifth in the 200m (21.74).
Other top three performances by the Chippewas were: second place --Dana Thomas (East Lansing/Sr.) in the heptathlon (5229) and Clive Roberts in the 60m hurdles (7.94); third place -- Jake Flynn (Benzonia/So.) in the 3000m (8:17.05), Don Wilkins (Trenton/So.) in the 5000m (14:21.54), Steve Wolf (Sterling Heights/Jr.) in the high jump (6-9), Thomas in the long jump (23-4), and Pat Walderzak in the shot put (56-10 ?).
DEDICATED GROUP - "I am happy with the way the team performed," said head coach Jim Knapp of the MAC championships. "I am disappointed that we took second, but I am not disappointed with the way our guys performed. The team worked real hard all season and it showed last weekend."
MAC DADDY - Head coach Jim Knapp was named the Mid-American Conference "Co-Coach of the Year" after his team's second-place performance at the MAC indoor championships last weekend.
Knapp shared the honor with Eastern Michigan's Brad Fairchild. Fairchild's Eagles finished in first place.
"This award is really a testimate to the team's dedication," said Knapp. "I would not have received the award if they had not performed as well as they did."
The Chippewas' second-place finish ties them for the best MAC finish in the history of the program.
It was the second time that Knapp has been awarded the top coaching honor for indoor track. He also received the award in 1999. He has twice been honored for his outdoor accomplishments, winning in 1988 and '99.
