Track & Field Heads to Notre Dame
2/4/2016 12:00:00 AM | MTF
Andy Sneddon, CMUChippewas.com
MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. - The Central Michigan indoor track and field teams will test themselves against some of the best this weekend when they partake in the 29th annual Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame's Loftus Sports Center.
Some 40 universities will be represented at the meet, which begins Friday at 3:45 p.m. and resumes on Saturday morning.
"We're taking our best people and putting them in their No. 1 event," CMU Director of Track and Field/Cross Country Mark Guthrie said. "We're taking 22 men and 17 women. We could have taken more, but I think this is a group that's ready at this time."
No team scores will be kept, but, Guthrie said, the meet serves as a good barometer for the Chippewas in how they stack up. Everything, he said, serves as a build-up to the Mid-American Conference Championships in Akron Feb. 26-27.
"Our focus, no matter what, is being ready for the conference meet, or getting somebody to nationals, so this is just a stop along the way," he said. "It's like a big road map, you start here, you stop here, and end up here. The goal is still to get to the final destination.
"One would hope that this is an indicator. Training at a heavy load, you're going to have some good and some bad. Sometimes you know your student-athletes and even when you think you know them, you get something that you're not expecting."
The Chippewas turned in several standout performances last weekend at the Saginaw Valley State Jets Pizza Invitational. CMU came away with 10 firsts, five from the men, five from the women.
Among the winners were throwers Dylan Banagis, Cole Walderzak and Kylee Dobbelaere; sprinters Malik Peacock, Tina Davis and Benjamin Hayes; hurdler Shane Moffo; and April Micheaux, who won the pentathlon.
"Last week was a pretty good confidence boost," Guthrie said, adding that since the Meyo is a non-scored meet, "it's about getting out and going and see what you got.
"It's all about being able to perform in a critical situation and this is an important step because this is more critical than it was last week, so now the stress is going to be higher, so can you manage that? Certainly, that's the goal, see high-level competition."
There are three more meets on the CMU docket before the league championships. And while Guthrie is looking for improved performances at Notre Dame, the trick is to have his student-athletes performing at their peak at the end of the month.
"You always have that concern, but I think we have an experienced enough coaching staff and we have conversations with athletes," Guthrie said. "At the MAC championships, it's all about scoring, but here it's just trying to be better than you were before, going out there and getting after it."
Players Mentioned
