Central Michigan University Athletics
Women's Track To Compete In Indiana Triangular
4/8/2003 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
April 8, 2003
Complete Release in PDF Format
Download Free Acrobat Reader
THIS WEEK - The Central Michigan University women's track and field team will head to Bloomington, Indiana, to compete in the Indiana Tri on Saturday, April 12.
The meet is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. It will be the Chippewas' second scored meet of the outdoor season. Other teams competing will be Indiana and Indiana State.
NOTRE DAME INVITE CANCELLED - The Chippewas were scheduled to compete in the Notre Dame Spring Opener at the University of Notre Dame on Saturday, April 5, but due to extreme weather conditions CMU did not attend.
"I feel that we made the best decision," said head coach Kathleen Raske. "With the road conditions being so bad we were really concerned with our athletes' safety."
"Sometimes these things are a blessing in disguise. The week off gave us a chance to do a little more training. It also allowed our athletes to catch up on their academics."
TIME TO COMPETE - "With the week off, we can now go to Indiana rested and ready to compete," said Raske.
"We need to step up our competitive level. Since it is a scored meet, it is all about competition. If we compete the best that we can then the individual times will come.
"I hope that we will have some good weather conditions. We need to take advantage of the good facilities that Indiana has."
NEW NATIONAL QUALIFICATIONS - The NCAA has implemented new criteria to qualify for the championship meet, held in June, that will take effect this season.
In past seasons, athletes have qualified for the meet by having one of the 32 best marks in the country in any specific event. This season athletes will have to originally qualify for a regional meet that will be held two weeks before the national meet.
The top five finishers in every event at the regional meet will advance to the NCAA championship meet.
Currently, CMU has three athletes qualified for the regional meet-- Jackie Smart (Blue Island, Ill/Fr.) in the triple jump, Katie Davis (Liberty Center, Ohio/So.) in the shot put, and Natasha Reynolds (Warren, PA./Jr.) in the javelin.
The Chippewas' regional meet will take place in Columbus, Ohio, from May 30-31. The national meet will be on June 11-14 in Sacramento, California.
MAY 2 HOME MEET CANCELLED - The May 2 Chippewa Open that was to be held at Jack Bennett Track has been cancelled. It was the only Chippewa home meet this season other than the Mid-American Conference Championships.
The meet was cancelled due to lack of participation by other schools. The main reason for the shortage of schools wanting to compete was because of the Jesse Owens Classic that is taking place the same weekend.
The Jesse Owens will take place at the Ohio State University, the track where the NCAA regional championships will take place less than one month later.
"Most teams want to get some experience at the regional championship facility," said Raske. "Now, we will also be able to take advantage of that opportunity."
