Central Michigan University Athletics
Men's Track And Field Season Outlook
1/12/2006 12:00:00 AM | MTF
Jan. 12, 2006
MOUNT PLEASANT - It would be impossible for the 2006 Central Michigan University men's track and field team to top what the 2005 squad accomplished. That's because all the Chippewas did last year was sweep both the Mid-American Conference indoor and outdoor titles, and take every single major individual award at both conference meets. Head coach Jim Knapp was named Coach of the Year both indoors and outdoors. Pierre Vinson and Dave Ernsberger shared the Most Valuable Performer honor indoors, while Jacob Friess was honored with the Most Outstanding Performance award. Vinson earned the MOP honor at the outdoor meet, with Steve Wolf earning the meet's MVP honors. Strictly speaking, CMU's performance in 2005 was as good as it gets.
"Last year was a very special year," head coach Jim Knapp said. "We had a lot of very talented athletes, and we knew that we were capable of something special. For us to have the type of success that we had in 2005 was unprecedented, and that's not something that just happens every year.
"This season is really about opportunity for some of our younger athletes. We're going to be a work in progress early on, but the goal is to be ready for the conference championships. We graduated a number of outstanding athletes, and people are going to have to fill those holes for us. We're hoping we can develop some people to make a contribution for us as the season goes along."
The cupboard is not bare for CMU in 2006, as it returns 10 All-MAC performers from last season's championship squad. The Chippewas were tabbed as the preseason favorite to win the indoor crown by the league's head coaches.
"We're honored to be picked as the favorite, but I think some of it has to do with being the defending champ," Knapp said. "We have a lot of points coming back, but we have some concerns about our depth in certain areas. To win the conference now that there are only six schools competing in indoor track, you need to have depth to amass points. You can't count on one or two guys finishing first to help carry you.
"It's going to be a challenge for us, but we're looking forward to it as a team. I think we'll be a very exciting track team, and I'm optimistic about our prospects for this season."
Sprints
Not one but two All-Americans are back to anchor a talented crop of sprinters in 2006. Pierre Vinson (Detroit, Mich./Sr.) was an All-American in the 60m indoors last year, and swept the individual conference titles in all four short sprints (60m and 200m indoors, 100m and 200m outdoors). Vinson was the 100m and 200m champion outdoors in 2004 as well, meaning he has won six straight individual MAC titles in his two events.
Johnie Drake will compete for CMU during the outdoor season in 2006.  | |
Steve Wezner (Sterling Heights, Mich./Sr.) is the two-time defending MAC champion in the 400m outdoors and an All-MAC performer indoors the past two seasons. He also earned All-MAC honors in the 200m outdoors last season.
Darryl Anglin (Detroit, Mich./Jr.) is back from an injury last year and will add depth, along with Lance Galliard (Detroit, Mich./Sr.) a high school teammate of both Vinson and Drake who joins the team this season after spending three years on the CMU football squad.
Hurdles
CMU boasts perhaps the two best hurdlers in the conference, but has little depth behind them. Clarence Glenn (Southfield, Mich./Sr.) was an All-American in the 60m hurdles indoors, and won the MAC title in the 110m hurdles outdoors in 2005. Teammate Nick Stout (Lake Orion, Mich./Sr.) finished second to Glenn in the 110 m hurdles and won the MAC title in the 400m hurdles outdoors, and took third in the 60m hurdles indoors.
"Clarence has really looked great, and he had an outstanding fall with his training," Knapp said. "He and Nick will need to perform at a high level for us, because we don't have the depth to make up for them if they struggle."
Jumps
Matt Warner (Oregon, Ohio/Jr.) is CMU's only returning scorer in any of the jumping events, having placed second in the high jump indoors last season. Otherwise, the Chippewas have a serious hole to fill here.
"This is an area we need to shore up," Knapp said. "We don't have any returners in either the long or triple jump. We do have some young guys who we think can help us, but they'll need to come along quickly if we're going to be successful."
Throws
In contrast to the jump events, the throwing events are an area where CMU has great depth and good balance.
Dave Stallworth (Jackson, Mich./Sr.) is the school record holder in the weight throw indoors and won the conference title in that event last season, and the coaching staff is expecting big things out of him this season.
Mike Marsh (Sarnia, Ontario/Sr.) can contribute in all of the throwing events. He scored in five throwing events at both the MAC indoor and outdoor championships in 2005, highlighted by third-place finishes in the shot put (both indoor and outdoor), discus, and hammer throw.
Both John Pilling (London, Ontario/Jr.) and Greg Pilling (London, Ontario/So.) are back after returning to the track squad a season ago. John scored in two events outdoors, taking fourth in the discus and fifth in the javelin. Prior to last year, he hadn't competed since 2001 due to injury and a two-year church mission. Greg improved greatly in the offseason and should be a scorer this season.
Pole Vault
MAC outdoor champion David Jones (St. Joseph, Mich./Sr.) returns for his final campaign at CMU. He was a regional qualifier outdoors last season.
"We really look for Dave to do well in his final season," Knapp said. "He has a chance to be a national qualifer this season with the work he's put in since last year."
Also scoring in the pole vault outdoors was Joe Hasler (Tawas City, Mich./So.), who placed fifth in the conference meet. Hasler came back from a serious injury last season and should be even better this year.
"Our veterans will be strong for us here," Knapp said. "We also have some young people that will develop and we think will contribute for us as time goes along."
Middle Distance/Distance
For the most part, this will be a very young group for the Chippewas in 2006. Fermon Tate (Farmington Hills, Mich./Jr.) is CMU's most experienced returning middle distance runner. He scored in the 800m outdoors and ran a leg on the winning 4x400m relay team indoors.
"Fermon is really an asset as a utility runner for us," Knapp said. "He contributes to our sprint relays in addition to the middle distance events, and he's really in the best shape of his life coming into this season."
A pair of redshirt freshman could also step up as scorers in the middle distance events. Abraham Mach (East Lansing, Mich./Fr.) had a brilliant high school career and will look to translate that success to the college level. Steve Cullen (Clinton Township, Mich./Fr.) has shown promise and will add depth in the middle distance events.
Junior Jeff Powers will captain the CMU track and field squad for 2006. | |
The other top returning distance performer for CMU is Matt Loiselle (Windsor, Ontario/So.). He scored at both MAC meets a year ago, taking fourth in the 5000m indoors and second in the 3000m steeplechase outdoors. Loiselle also paced the cross country squad this fall, earning first team All-MAC honors and qualifying as an individual for the NCAA Championships.
"We've really been spoiled through the years with our distance performers," Knapp said. "This year, we don't have the number of returners that we're used to. We're going to need some of our young athletes to step up for us if we're going to be the championship-caliber team we believe we can be."
Schedule
The competitive slate for CMU remains consistent with past seasons, as CMU will host two indoor meets and travel to a pair of quality meets in preparation for the MAC Indoor Championships. The Chippewas open the season on Friday, Jan. 13 with the Chippewa Open at the Jack Skoog Indoor Track. They'll travel to Notre Dame for the Meyo Invitational Feb. 3-4 and to Penn State to compete in the Sykes-Sabok Challenge Cup the following weekend, Feb. 10-11. The second home indoor meet, the Jack Skoog Open, is Feb. 17. Bowling Green State University will host the MAC meet on Feb. 24-25. The NCAA Indoor Championships are two weeks later, March 10-11 at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville, Ark.
The outdoor schedule is highlighted by a trip to preview the host site for the NCAA Regionals, to be held May 26-27 at the University of Tennessee in Knoxville, Tenn. CMU will compete at the prestigious Sea Ray Relays, hosted by Tennessee, April 14-15. The Chippewas will compete all across the country, from the Stanford Invitational in Stanford, Calif., to the Texas Relays in Austin, Texas, and the prestigious Penn Relays in Philadelphia, Penn. The schedule is geared to get the team in top form for the MAC Outdoor Championships at the University of Toledo, May 11-13. The NCAA Outdoor Championships take place in Sacramento, Calif. June 7-10.
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