Central Michigan University Athletics
Men's Track Trying To Recoup
5/20/2003 12:00:00 AM | MTF
May 20, 2003
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THE TEAM - The Central Michigan University men's track team has two weeks to prepare for the NCAA Regional Championship at Columbus, Ohio on Friday, May 30 and Saturday, May 31.
It is the second time CMU will compete in Columbus. The Chippewas previously competed at the Jesse Owens Classic on May 2-3.
RELAX - "We have two weeks until the regional meet so we will take some time to rest," head coach Jim Knapp said. "With all of the qualifiers we will rest, recoup then get ready to compete."
MAC RECAP - The string of five straight Mid-American Conference outdoor championships by Eastern Michigan was put to an end by CMU.
In front of the hometown fans at Lyle Bennett Track, the Chippewas put together a three-day effort that earned them their first ever MAC championship.
CMU held a slim lead after days one and two but exploded on the third day to win by 20.75 points. The Chippewas finished the event with 158 points followed by Eastern Michigan (137.25) and Kent State (116.5).
Although the Chippewas only came away with two individual victories, CMU built a large lead by having multiple athletes score in 11 events.
Of the 28 athletes competing, 26 scored points.
Pat Walderzak (Frankenmuth/Sr.) grabbed the top spot in the hammer throw with a distance of 195-7, and Mike Sidlauskas (Sparta/So.) won the discus throw (169-2). Second and third place finishers for the Chippewas were: in second place - Soji Jibowu (Saginaw/So.) in the 400m (46.81); Ian Searcy (Canton/Sr.) in the 800m (1:49.94); Steve Wolf (Sterling Heights/Jr.) in both the high jump (7-1) and the triple jump (47-9); in third place - Derold Sligh (Saginaw/Jr.) in the 400m (46.95); Ron Miller (Stanton/Jr.) in the 1,500m (3:46.8); Tristen Perlberg (Bay City/So.) in the 5,000m (14:29.71); and Don Wilkins (Trenton/So.) in the 10,000 (29:42.21).
CMU fourth and fifth place finishers were: in fourth place - Jibowu in the 200m (21.25); Walderzak in the discus (160-8) and shot put (54-7.5); Sidlauskas in the hammer throw (187-10); Dave Ernsberger (Petoskey/So.) in the 10,000m 29:46.22; and Dana Thomas (East Lansing/Sr.) in the long jump (24-0.25); in fifth place - Nick Stout (Lake Orion/Fr.) in the 110m hurdles (14.77); Perlberg in the 10,000m (30:01.03); and Mike Marsh (Sarnia, Ont./Fr.) in the discus (160-8).
Wolf led the team in total points scored. He tabbed 24 points throughout the three-day competition.
PICTURE PERFECT - "We work all year trying to reach our peak and perform our best at this meet," Knapp said. "It shows that it paid off by our 13 personal bests that we got over the weekend.
"I am just incredibly proud of these young men. The conference meet is extremely tough to win. It is three days of grueling competition and I am very happy we came out on top.
"The most gratifying experience about the win was the fact that 92 former athletes were there to watch us win. Winning the MAC was great, doing it at home was even better, but nothing was as great then having former athletes there to watch us win."
HIGHLIGHTS - CMU also took the MAC crown in the cross country season and finished second at the indoor meet.
This is the sixth MAC championship for a Chippewa athletic teams during the 2002-2003 school year.
Joining the cross country and outdoor track teams were field hockey, wrestling, men's basketball, and gymnastics.
THIRD TIMES A CHARM - Coach Jim Knapp was awarded the 2003 MAC Outdoor "Coach of the Year." It is the fourth time in school history an CMU outdoor coach recieved the honor.
Knapp has three of the four Chippewa awards with his previous two coming in 1999 and 1988.
He has also earned Indoor Coach of the Year in 1999 and was named Co-Coach of the Year during this past season.
"It's a great honor to have," Knapp said. "It really is just a testament to our team because without them I wouldn't have got the award."
MORE QUALIFIERS - The Chippewas had two new individual qualifiers for the NCAA Regionals in Columbus, Ohio, Ron Miller and Derold Sligh. Miller qualified after running the 1,500m with a times of 3:46.8, and Sligh qualified after running the 400m in 46.95.
THE QUALIFIERS - The Chippewas have 16 athletes and two relays (1,600 relay and the 400 relay) eligible for the regional championship.
Regional qualifiers in running events were: Soji Jibowu in the 200m and 400m; Ian Searcy in the 800m; Dave Ernsberger in the 5,000m; Tristen Perlberg in the 5,000m; Don Wilkins in the 5,000m; Jeff Davis and Pete Remien in the steelpechase; Clive Roberts in the 110 hurdles; Derold Sligh in the 400m; and Ron Miller in the 1,500m. Others in the field events are: Pat Walderzak in the shot put, discus and hammer throw; Steve Wolf in the long jump and high jump; Mike Sidlauskas in the hammer throw and discus; Dana Thomas in the long jump; and Aaron Gebauer and David Jones in the pole vault.
Thomas in the decathlon, and Ernsberger and Wilkins in the 10,000m have qualified provisionally qualified for the NCAA Championship. They are the only two events that aren't at the regional championship.
DEPTH FACTOR - "We were able to win a championship due to depth," Knapp said. "Bringing 16 athletes to face the top teams in the region is just a testament of the depth we have this season."
THE STANDARDS - In order for the Chippewas to qualify for the national meet, the athletes will have to finish in the top five of their respective events. The Midwest regional covers teams from Louisiana to Minnesota.
