Central Michigan University
Jesse Owens Classic
Chippewas Steady On Final Day At Jesse Owens
4/22/2017 12:00:00 AM | Track & Field
Nate Perry, CMUChippewas.com
COLUMBUS, Ohio —The Central Michigan athletes who competed Saturday on day two of the Jesse Owens Classic had quite an act to follow.
Day one was highlighted by Megan O'Neil taking first place in the women's 5,000-meter Showcase, Kylee Dobbelaere setting a school record in the women's hammer throw, and Logan Targgart logging the best hammer throw in the Mid-American Conference outdoor season.
O'Neil's previous best in the 5,000 was 17:20.80. She shaved over 20 seconds off that time with her victory at the Jesse Owens.
"That was a huge PR for her," CMU Director of Track & Field Mark Guthrie said. "To cut that much time off is a great improvement."
Dobbelaere's school record in the hammer throw comes on the heels of consecutive victories at the Alma Charles Gray Invitational, the Baylor Invitational, and the Oakland Golden Grizzly Invite.
"(Kylee's) made great progress," Guthrie said. "I think it speaks to being a senior and having seen a lot of things and the ability to step up against better competition."
Targgart's throw was part of what Guthrie said was the best hammer throw series of his career.
"It was a bomb, that's all I can say," Guthrie said. "For a redshirt freshman to throw like that, you're talking about a special athlete. He's got three years now to break the school record, which is like 66-something (meters). It was very impressive to see."
Although a little less spectacular, Saturday was not without its own notable finishes for the Chippewas
The first event of the day was the men's pole vault where Sam Wagner took third with a jump of 16 feet, 5 inches (5.01 meters).
Later, Nadia Williams measured at 19-5 (5.92 meters) in the women's long jump, earning her a fourth-place in the event out of 42 participants.
CMU's Calli Stemple was impressive in the high jump, taking second place in the 24-athlete field with a leap of 5-6 (1.68 meters).
Kevin Weiler was another one of the more impressive Chippewas as he placed fifth in the men's shot put with a career-best 58-5 ¾ (17.83 meters).
On the track, CMU's Samantha Cuneo took fourth place in the women's 400 with a time of 55.68. Teammate Kelsey Ross was also fourth, clocking in at 2:10.15 in the 800.
"Good run for her," Guthrie said. "We're trying to get her under the 2:10, she's been there like four times. One of these times she's going to hit it and it's going to go. I thought she ran a good race - smart race."
All things considered, the Classic was a nice outing for the Chippewas and an improvement over previous weeks, which is a good sign with the MAC Championships looming.
"Across the board I didn't think we embarrassed ourselves - we didn't blow up," Guthrie said. "I thought we were pretty steady."
"We have two weeks after finals to get ready for the MAC, and we're just going to take it one week at a time."
Players Mentioned
