Final Tune-Up For Track & Field
2/18/2016 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
Zach Libby, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - One more meet, and then it's on to the Mid-American Conference Championships at Akron.
The Central Michigan indoor track and field teams will compete Friday in the Grand Valley State Tune-Up Meet at the Lakers' Kelly Family Sports Center.
CMU Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Mark Guthrie said the plan is to have those Chippewa student-athletes who have not yet qualified for the conference championships make one final push to get to Akron.
It's CMU's second trip in as many weeks to Grand Valley, and 29 Chippewas of both genders have met qualifying standards for the MAC Championships. At least another dozen are close enough to their respective qualifying standard that a good performance on Friday at the Tune-Up could very well punch their ticket to Arkon.
"Those people who are on the bubble of going to the MAC, this week is their last chance to put their best foot forward and try to make a case to get a spot on the bus," Guthrie said.
Through the eyes of Guthrie in two-plus decades of coaching track and field, earlier meet results of an individual athlete reflect on how his teams finish at the final competition of the season.
Twenty student-athletes are slated to represent CMU on Friday.
"This will be a little bit of a taper week," Guthrie said. "Trying to let them feel pretty good, try and get a nice bounce off the heavy training load and see what they can do."
The Chippewas have opted out of the Alex Wilson invitational at Notre Dame on Saturday.