Show Time For Track & Field

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The biggest meet of the season to this point is on tap for the Central Michigan track & field team as it is scheduled to partake in the Mid-American Conference Indoor Championships at Akron's Stile Field House on Friday and Saturday, Feb. 28-29.

CMU is the defending women's team champion. The Chippewas broke through a year ago, winning their first MAC indoor crown since 2004 as they compiled 114.5 points, 23 better than runner-up Eastern Michigan.

Nadia Williams won the MAC long jump title and placed second in the 200-meter dash a year ago, helping lead the Chippewa charge. She and several others on both the CMU women's and men's squads will look to etch their place in league history this weekend.

Williams ranks first in the MAC, and ninth in the nation, in the women's long jump with a season-best leap of 21 feet, 1 ¼ inches. CMU's Logan Targgart is first in the conference and 10^th nationally in the men's weight throw at 71-11.

"I think we're in a really good place right now," CMU director of track & field Jenny Swieton said. "Obviously, we have two student-athletes ranked in the top 10 nationally. We have new student-athletes stepping up every week, showing that they can be people that can contribute for our team.

"I think it'll be a total team effort on both sides as far as accomplishing what we want to accomplish. But at the end of the day, we just want everyone to go in and compete to the best of their abilities, not just for themselves, but for their team. Big things happen when they rally around each other."

Where They Stand
While Williams and Targgart top the list in the women's long jump and the men's weight throw, respectively, several other Chippewas rank highly in the MAC headed into the meet.

Quiara Wheeler is second in the conference in the women's weight throw at 64-9 ¼; Kasey Stanley is third in the women's pole vault at 12-8 ¾; Erin Howard is third in the women's shot put at 50-1 ¾; Jackson Blanchard is fourth in the men's 60 hurdles at 8.10; Williams also ranks fourth in the in the 60 at 7.56 seconds; Mikayla Grant is fourth in the pentathlon; and the CMU men are fourth in the 4x400 relay.

Moving On
Athletes ranked in the top 16 nationally in any event earn a bid to the NCAA Indoor Championships in Albuquerque, N.M. on March 13-14.

Team Chemistry
A vital part to a team's success, Swieton said, is chemistry. A team that is tightly knit tends to compete and perform better because they want to contribute to the team. That is certainly the case for the Chippewas.

"Because we're on the younger side, team chemistry is even more important," she said. "I feel that when you have a young team, they really lean on each other for that support. And I think our team is really good at providing that support to one another.

"The older athletes we have are doing a good job of seeing when other people need something and providing them with what they need … and I like that."

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jackson Blanchard

Erin Howard

Logan Targgart

Quiara Wheeler

Nadia Williams