Central Michigan University Athletics
Thursday, May 9
DeKalb, Ill.
All Day
Central Michigan University
at
Mid-American Conference
Photo by: Lauren Verellen '26 - @laurenverellen_photography
Day 1 of MAC Outdoor Championships: Advancements for Turner, Newcombe, Sabourin, Munderloh
5/9/2024 11:02:00 PM | Track & Field
Results (Web)Video Interview: Jenny Swieton (Thursday)Wednesday Practice Photo GalleryTFRRS (Central Michigan T&F)Photo Gallery
Track & Field Championships Continue on Friday, Saturday in DeKalb
DeKALB, Ill. — Starting the 2024 Mid-American Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships on the right foot.
Central Michigan Track and Field opened the MAC Championships at Northern Illinois on Thursday, where nine Chippewa student-athletes competed on the first day.
Four CMU runners sought qualification for Saturday's finals in the 400 hurdles and 1500m and four CMU runners prevailed; Anya Turner and Natalie Newcombe will compete in the 1500m finals while Payton Sabourin and Libby Munderloh will take on the 400 hurdles finals on Saturday.
Newcombe and Turner finished 6th and 7th, respectively, in their qualifier. Sabourin won the 400 hurdles qualifier while Munderloh ran a personal-best time to qualify.
"It's like the tale of the older and the younger," said Director of Cross Country/Track and Field Jenny Swieton of Sabourin and Munderloh. "Payton is new to us, but she's a fifth-year senior and for her, it's business as usual, getting it done. Libby is pretty new to the event, she was at the Championships last year as a freshman but this is the first year she's had a shot to make the final.
"It was really big for her to perform in the moment, on the day, get a PR and make it to the final; that's super huge for her future."
Swieton also spoke of Turner and Newcombe, a redshirt senior and junior, respectively, in their performance in the 1500m.
"Anya made the final last year, but Natalie (didn't compete in outdoor) last year; for her to come in and perform like the veteran that she is and make the final, that was huge," Swieton said. "For all of them, it was huge for a bunch of different reasons. The 1500m, on paper, is the hardest it's been in a long time. These girls were so excited and fired up to move onto the next round."
Jelena Prescott (13th), Kate Jenkins (15th) and Annie Bennett (25th) competed in the 10,000m event.
Representing CMU in the Thursday field events was Gracie Merrick, who finished 13th in the hammer throw.
"Something that we talked about (ahead of competition) was from the book 'Boys in the Boat'," said Swieton. "Basically, the message was to put everything that you have into your craft, and leave a little bit of you here today or the next day."
"We wanted to make sure everybody here gave everything they have this weekend, and to cherish every moment. We have a lot of seniors this year, and for a lot, this is their last MAC meet. We wanted to make it the very best it possibly could be, either through performance or great memories they make with their teammates."
The festivities continue in DeKalb on Friday, where CMU will take on more events ahead of the final day of the Championships on Saturday.
The women's shot put (Ereka Risner, Gracie Merrick, Emily McLean) and long jump (Daniel) is slated to start at 3 p.m. (CT, 4 p.m. ET) with the pole vault following at 3:30 (Emily Yoshino, Lynette Cipolla, Sarah Griffin).
Peyton Korytkowski will kick off Friday's running events for CMU, competing in the 100 hurdles preliminaries at 4:30 p.m. (CT), followed by the 400m preliminaries (Emma Fountain), 100m preliminaries (Kaitlynn Rush), 800m trials (Chesney Wilke, Jessie Gibbins, Ericka Bigham).
The 3000m steeplechase will conclude Friday's events, where Turner, Emma Janesak and Emma Netzel will compete.
"We're just going to do the same thing tomorrow," Swieton said. "If everyone leaves everything that they have out on the track, we'll be happy with the performances."
Central Michigan Track and Field opened the MAC Championships at Northern Illinois on Thursday, where nine Chippewa student-athletes competed on the first day.
Four CMU runners sought qualification for Saturday's finals in the 400 hurdles and 1500m and four CMU runners prevailed; Anya Turner and Natalie Newcombe will compete in the 1500m finals while Payton Sabourin and Libby Munderloh will take on the 400 hurdles finals on Saturday.
Newcombe and Turner finished 6th and 7th, respectively, in their qualifier. Sabourin won the 400 hurdles qualifier while Munderloh ran a personal-best time to qualify.
"It's like the tale of the older and the younger," said Director of Cross Country/Track and Field Jenny Swieton of Sabourin and Munderloh. "Payton is new to us, but she's a fifth-year senior and for her, it's business as usual, getting it done. Libby is pretty new to the event, she was at the Championships last year as a freshman but this is the first year she's had a shot to make the final.
"It was really big for her to perform in the moment, on the day, get a PR and make it to the final; that's super huge for her future."
Swieton also spoke of Turner and Newcombe, a redshirt senior and junior, respectively, in their performance in the 1500m.
"Anya made the final last year, but Natalie (didn't compete in outdoor) last year; for her to come in and perform like the veteran that she is and make the final, that was huge," Swieton said. "For all of them, it was huge for a bunch of different reasons. The 1500m, on paper, is the hardest it's been in a long time. These girls were so excited and fired up to move onto the next round."
Jelena Prescott (13th), Kate Jenkins (15th) and Annie Bennett (25th) competed in the 10,000m event.
Representing CMU in the Thursday field events was Gracie Merrick, who finished 13th in the hammer throw.
"Something that we talked about (ahead of competition) was from the book 'Boys in the Boat'," said Swieton. "Basically, the message was to put everything that you have into your craft, and leave a little bit of you here today or the next day."
"We wanted to make sure everybody here gave everything they have this weekend, and to cherish every moment. We have a lot of seniors this year, and for a lot, this is their last MAC meet. We wanted to make it the very best it possibly could be, either through performance or great memories they make with their teammates."
The festivities continue in DeKalb on Friday, where CMU will take on more events ahead of the final day of the Championships on Saturday.
The women's shot put (Ereka Risner, Gracie Merrick, Emily McLean) and long jump (Daniel) is slated to start at 3 p.m. (CT, 4 p.m. ET) with the pole vault following at 3:30 (Emily Yoshino, Lynette Cipolla, Sarah Griffin).
Peyton Korytkowski will kick off Friday's running events for CMU, competing in the 100 hurdles preliminaries at 4:30 p.m. (CT), followed by the 400m preliminaries (Emma Fountain), 100m preliminaries (Kaitlynn Rush), 800m trials (Chesney Wilke, Jessie Gibbins, Ericka Bigham).
The 3000m steeplechase will conclude Friday's events, where Turner, Emma Janesak and Emma Netzel will compete.
"We're just going to do the same thing tomorrow," Swieton said. "If everyone leaves everything that they have out on the track, we'll be happy with the performances."
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Track & Field
Mid-Distance
/ Track & Field
Vault/Jumps
/ Track & Field
Mid-Distance
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Vault/Jumps
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Sprints/Hurdles
/ Track & Field
Throws
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & Field
Mid-Distance
/ Track & Field
Throws
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Sprints
/ Track & Field
Distance
/ Track & FieldMid-Distance
/ Track & Field
Vault
/ Track & FieldFeature Interview with CMU XC/TF's Emily Paupore
Tuesday, June 11
MAC Outdoor Championships Day 3: Jenny Swieton (Interview)
Saturday, May 11
2024 Outdoor MAC Championships Day 2 - Jenny Swieton (Interview)
Friday, May 10
2024 Outdoor MAC Championships Day 1 - Jenny Swieton Interview
Thursday, May 09