Track & Field: Two Records, Three Firsts

Nadia Williams broke a program record, Siobhan Szerencsits tied a program record, and three Chippewas notched first-place finishes for the Central Michigan track & field team at the Tennessee Relays and Oakland Golden Grizzles Invitational this weekend.

"I think we made stride in the right direction," CMU director of track & field Jenny Swieton said. "I think we're starting to get that snowball rolling again, especially with the school record last weekend, school records this weekend, and we're starting to get that momentum back.

"I think we're all really excited about the next month or so has in store for us."

TENNESSEE REUSLTS
Williams' longest jump of the day was 20 feet, 9 ¼ inches, which was good for second place. That jump, however, was wind-aided and does not count as the program record.

However, her jump of 20-5, which she also accomplished in the meet, broke her own program mark of 20-1.

Szerencsits tied the program record in the pole vault with a jump of 13-3 3/4, which was good for first place. She equaled Amanda Storck's CMU women's outdoor record set in 2005.

"She jumped great," CMU assistant coach Bryant Wilson said. "She looked like a seasoned vet, like a professional, which is rare in a freshman, which goes to show why she's one of the top freshman in the NCAA.

"She was disappointed with how the Mid-American Conference Indoors Championships went, took a little time off, and came out on a mission, and these last couple of weeks, her training has been impressive to watch."

Also for the Chippewas at Tennesee:

• Jack Dodge placed second in the men's 400-meter dash in 46.79 seconds.

• AJ Ferns tied for third in the men's pole vault, 15-7.

• Logan Targgart placed third in the men's hammer throw, 212-1.

• CMU's Jackson Blanchard, Benjamin Hayes, Dante Lander and Dodge placed third in the men's 4x400 relay, 3:12.

• Gabrielle Beauvais, Simonae Dismuke, Samantha Cuneo and Williams teamed up to place fourth, 3:41, in the women's 4x400 relay.

• Megan McElroy placed fourth in the women's javelin, 150-4.

• Janelle Perry finished fifth in the women's 100 hurdles, 13.34, and was seventh in the women's long jump, 19-8 ¼.

• Erin Howard was fifth in the women's discus, 166-6.

• Marissa Dunn placed fifth in the women's hammer throw, 196-1.

• Cuneo finished sixth in the women's 400, 54.58 seconds.

• Blanchard was eighth in the men's 400 hurdles, 54.68.

• Kevin Weiler placed eighth in the men's shot put, 57-4 ¼.

• Connor Covert placed eighth in the men's discus, 153-9.

"I think we're ready" for the MAC Outdoor Championships, Wilson said. "There's still some work to be done as far as fine tuning some things, but it's good to see that, on some tired legs or some heavier training, the sprinters they haven't gotten to their peak phase yet, and the throwers are still lifting heavy so they're not in their peak phase yet.

"The throwers had a bunch of personal records, and once we heat up a little bit in practice, those results are going to improve."

OAKLAND RESULTS
The Chippewas got first-place finishes from Shane Moffo, Emmett Smrcka and Emily Shelton at the Golden Grizzlies Invitational in Rochester.

Moffo won the men's 110 hurdles in 14.32 seconds; Smrcka captured the men's 800 in 1:55; and Shelton was first in the women's 5,000 in 18:19.

Also for the Chippewas at Oakland:

• Mark Beckmann (15:16) and Luke Anderson (15:23) placed second and fourth, respectively, in the men's 5,000.

• Ana Garcia Arias (11:43) and Lauren Beckmann (11:49) finished third and fourth, respectively, in the women's steeplechase.

• Erin Zdrojewski was fifth in the women's 5,000 in 18:45.

• Will Finch (4:10) and Chandler Lorf (4:12) placed fifth and seventh, respectively, in the men's 1,500.

• Kenneth Goolsby was fifth in the men's steeplechase in 10:21.

• Maija Rettelle finished in seventh in the women's 1,500 in 4:52.

"I think we made a step in the right direction," Swieton said. "I think our athletes are either getting use to all the hard training or they're starting to freshen up a little bit. I think people are more ready to race than they were the last couple of weeks. With better weather, better times will come; they're definitely competing well."

NEXT
The Chippewas will travel to Charlottesville, Va. to compete in the Virginia Challenge on Friday and Saturday, April 19-20.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Luke Anderson

Lauren Beckmann

Mark Beckmann

Jackson Blanchard

Connor Covert

Samantha Cuneo

Simonae Dismuke

Jack Dodge

Marissa Dunn

Ana Garcia Arias

Benjamin Hayes

Erin Howard

Dante Lander

Chandler Lorf

Megan McElroy

Shane Moffo

Janelle Perry

Maija Rettelle

Emily Shelton

Emmett Smrcka

Siobhan Szerencsits

Logan Targgart

Kevin Weiler

Nadia Williams

Erin Zdrojewski