After the Grand Valley State University Tune-Up Meet on Feb. 15, the Charger track and field team makes its way to the GLIAC Championships with the men’s team holding 10 provisional marks and the women’s team seizing nine provisional marks and one automatic mark.
As its name implies, the meet served as a tune-up for athletes to prepare for championships this coming weekend, so no scores were kept. After a stressful weekend in Boston on Feb. 8 through Feb. 10 due to a snowstorm delay, the team ran flatter than usual, head women’s coach Andrew Towne said.
“Everyone was a little tired because of the external stress,” he said. “It’s nothing the kids did or anything that we did to them. When travel gets stressful, it really throws everything off.”
Despite the added stress of last weekend, junior Maurice Jones captured first place in the 400-meter dash with an NCAA provisional time of 47.75. Jones promises to be a top contender at championships.
“Mo ran really fast and made a big statement at the meet this weekend,” Towne said.
Junior Justin Fawley captured first in the pole vault, finishing at 14 feet, 2 ½ inches. His success in this event could contribute to a strong finish in the heptathlon next weekend.
On the women’s side, senior Kayla Caldwell also won first in the pole vault, clearing 13 feet, 11¼ inches, finishing close to her school record.
Caldwell’s performance tied the Kelly Family Center “building record” for women’s pole vault and earned her the only Charger Automatic Mark for NCAA Division II Championships. Caldwell is now ranked second in Division II for her event.
Senior thrower John Banovetz clutched two provisional marks in both the shot put, with a throw of 16.58 meters, and the weight throw, with a toss of 17.6 meters.
Senior thrower Kathy Dirksen earned second place in both the weight throw and shot put. Her throw of 17.66 meters in the weight throw allowed her to snag a NCAA provisional mark. Junior teammate Amber Mueller seized third in the same event, and sophomore Heather Lantis secured fourth.
Sophomore Alex Mexicotte finished second in the 200-meter dash with his best time of the year. He was followed closely by teammate and junior Michael Shaw, both running in less than 22.5 seconds.
Freshman Danielle Gagne took third in the 200-meter dash and fellow freshman Emily Oren captured an NCAA provisional mark by running 5:00.12 in the mile.
“This weekend is the opportunity to show that strength rejoices in the challenge,” Towne said. “We will rejoice in the challenge that is being a part of one of the best conferences in the country.”
Looking forward to next weekend, Dirksen said the biggest fear for the team is health, as a flu virus has plagued some of the coaches and athletes.
“It’s something that you can’t really plan for. We have everything figured out for this weekend, so there’s nothing you can do except try to be rested,” she said.
Despite this setback, each respective class remains excited for the meet.
“We’re scared,” Mexicotte said in reference to the other first-year track athletes like himself. “We’ve been to big meets before in high school, and this is no different. But when it’s time to race, we’ve done this all year. So we have to just focus and run the race we know how to race.”
Towne said the team’s performance at GVSU bodes well for GLIAC Conference Championships on Feb. 23 and 24.
