Central Michigan University Athletics
Men's Track Looks Ahead to Outdoor Season
3/17/2005 12:00:00 AM | MTF
March 17, 2005
MOUNT PLEASANT-- After a highly successful and rewarding indoor season, the Central Michigan men's track team will take a few weeks off to get healthy heading into the outdoor season, which is set to begin for a handful of runners on March 25 at the Cardinal Invitational on the campus of Stanford University.
CMU will send mostly distance runners, including Tristen Perlberg, Matt Loiselle, and Dave Ernsberger to Stanford, while the rest of the team will have an additional week to rest before the first team meet, the Indiana Invitational on April 1.
The success during the indoor season will not change the approach to the outdoor season according to head coach Jim Knapp.
"We start over, back to base training. Our goal week-to-week will be progression, and getting better as we head toward the Mid-American Conference Championship," he said.
The Chippewas are getting some much needed and well deserved time off between seasons. During the indoor season, the team captured its first ever indoor title, along with several individual honors.
Knapp was named both USTCA Great Lakes Region and MAC "Coach of the Year" for the 2005 indoor season. It was the sixth time in his career at CMU he has been named MAC "Coach of the Year".
On the track, CMU had nine MAC champions in Ernsberger (3000m, 5000m) Pierre Vinson (60m and 200m) , Clarence Glenn (60m hurdles), Jacob Friess (heptathlon), Nelson Deford (400m), Dave Stallworth (weight throw) and the 4x400m relay team.
"Winning the championship and watching these young people come together in that championship meet was one of the most electrifying things I've ever seen. It's one of the memories I'll always cherish," Knapp said.
CMU also sent Vinson, Glenn and Johnie Drake to the NCAA Championship meet, where Glenn and Vinson took home All-American honors. Vinson placed fifth with a time of 6.69 seconds in the 60m dash, while Glenn finished ninth in the 60m hurdles with a time of 7.81 seconds, however his time was the seventh best ran by an American-born athlete.
Two Maroon and Gold runners were also honored for their scholastic achievements. Jacob Crowe and Michael Sidlauskas were named to the Academic All-MAC squad.
