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[Sports]
Men to compete in three different cities this weekend Pilling, Kettlewell, and Rose to sit out; rest of team heads across country By Nick Conklin Staff Reporter
file photo by Matthew StepheNS
Sophomore Molly Coldren bats against Michigan State on April 22. Coldren leads the team with 10 home runs and 32 runs batted in on the season.
CMU heads to Buffalo in first place By Josh Berenter Staff Reporter
The CMU softball team has played 30 of its 37 games away from the comfort of Margo Jonker Stadium. The Chippewas head into its final road trip of the season as it takes on Buffalo in a doubleheader today and Mid-American Conference leader Kent State Saturday and Sunday. “It’s a lot of wear and tear on the body,” said junior third baseman Amanda Patrick about playing so many road games. “But this is D-1 softball. You have to be ready for whatever is thrown at you.” Patrick hit a grand slam to take the lead in extra innings against Eastern Michigan on Saturday to help preserve what was a six-game winning streak. CMU won game two of
the double header to extend the streak to seven games. Despite the winning streak, CMU is still tied atop the MAC West with Ball State (10-4). Coach Margo Jonker said anyone could be beaten on any given day in the conference. “The conference is very even,” she said. “Our goal every time is to focus on the process and let the outcome take care of itself.” CMU has only given up seven runs in its last five games. Junior Kari Seddon threw complete games in three of them. Seddon who was named MAC pitcher of the week said she is honored for the award but deflected the credit to her team. “I owe a lot of it to my teammates,” she said. “They make me look better.”
After playing Buffalo, CMU heads into a showdown for first place overall in the MAC against Kent State. The Golden Flashes are a power hitting team, boasting 42 home runs this season. It also features pitcher Kylie Reynolds, who leads the league in strikeouts and innings, and is third in earnedrun average. “The bottom line is we have to be aggressive and selective at the same time,” Jonker said about facing Reynolds. “We have to be on our game. I totally believe we can hit their pitching.” Seddon said no one talks about must-win situations in the tight race for the MAC crown. She said the team needs to play their brand of softball. sports@cm-life.com
Women’s track and field resumes competition in separate meets Most of team headed to Ohio, others to California By John Manzo Staff Reporter
Most of the CMU women’s track and field program had the past week off from competition, but will resume separately this weekend at a few different meets. The bulk of the team is heading to the Jessie Owens Invitational in Columbus, Ohio, while the distance runners are off to the Cardinal Invitational in Stanford, Calif. Also, some of the team’s top throwers are attending the Toledo Invitational in Toledo, Ohio. How e v e r, the Jessie Owens Classic highlights the trio of meets for the weekend with quality competition. The meet Willie Randolph will consist of many Big Ten schools such as No. 15 Penn State, Indiana, Purdue, Michigan and Michigan State. Mississippi State, from the Southeastern Conference will be in attendance as well. The Chippewas will also see familiar faces as Miami (OH), rival Kent State, Akron and Eastern Michigan round out the competition from the Mid-American Conference. Track and field director Willie Randolph said his team can compete against anybody after seeing the performance that the program put up against No. 22 Louisville two weekends ago. “Now that we’re competing against names, our program can freely compete,” he said. “We demand respect and mentally, we’re in the right mentality at this point in the season.” CMU has various athletes competing this weekend at the Jessie Owens as it hits one of its final meets of the season. Sophomore Dierra Riley and juniors Brittnee Shreve, Jordan Dunn and Shanaye Carr will be competing in the 400-meter relay and have had
Central Michigan Life || Friday, April 30, 2010 || 3B
file photo by Jake May
Freshman sprinter Raquel Gibbs races in the Jack Skoog on Feb. 19.
quality finishes this season. The relay team has been one of many bright spots for the team this season. Seniors Tanisha Johnson and Erika Schroll look to tune up before MAC Championships as they compete in the women’s high jump. Freshman Tamica Harbour and sophomore Katie McColly are set to compete in the women’s long jump this weekend. “The focus is good and everybody knows were in the final cycle,” Randolph said. The team has put in a few good weeks of practicing in preparation for this weekend’s meet. Last week, it was scheduled for an off-week, so the team spent that it resting, but also put a lot of time in preparing for that final cycle. The off-week came at the perfect time for CMU because final exams are approaching and the team had the week to prepare for their academics. “These kids are studentathletes and classes come first,” Randolph said. “It doesn’t affect us, because we
Where they’re going Most of team to Jessie Owens Classic in Columbus, Ohio Distance runners headed to Cardinal Invitational in California Senior Sarah Squires out due to foot injury
have been prepared for it for a while.” Senior Sarah Squires, who has been hampered with a nagging left foot injury, will be held out of this weekend’s action. sports@cm-life.com
The CMU men’s track program will send a portion of its team to compete in three different meets this weekend after the successful dispersal of select track and field athletes last weekend. Most of the athletes will compete today through Sunday in Columbus, Ohio, at the Jesse Owens Classic, while a small group of throwers will travel to Toledo, Ohio, to compete over a two-day period in the Toledo Invitational. Select distance runners will head to California to compete in the Stanford Invitational. However, a majority of the competitors have opted out of competition this weekend to rest as the post-season approaches. Of those not competing are top throwers senior Greg Pilling, freshman Alex Rose as well as sophomore Josh Kettlewell, who placed first in the long jump, pole vault and 110-meter hurdles, and won the decathlon at the Gina Relays last weekend in Hillsdale. Track and field director Willie Randolph, who was pleased with the progress Kettlewell made up to this point in the season, will sit Kettlewell this weekend to keep him fresh as the season draws to a close. “(Josh) had some good things happen with his throws and his hurdles,” Randolph said. “Some things we expect him to do well within, but at the same time winning is one great thing, but improving is the most important thing.” Randolph said the reason for resting certain athletes while competing
file photo by Sean Proctor
Senior Riak Mabil looks to break his 5,000-meter personal best record in Stanford, California this weekend.
others is to give them experience and a good luck at the competition they will be facing in the Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championships. “The focus is to get out athletes to compete against some of the best in the country, and to meet a lot of the conference foes we haven’t seen all year,” he said. MABIL RACING IN CALIFORNIA On the distance side, senior Riak Mabil is set to compete at the Stanford Invitational.
Mabil will run in the 5,000meter race, where he looks to improve on his previous best time of 14:39.92 recorded at the Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, N.C. on March 26. With strong competition anticipated this weekend, Randolph has high expectations for Riak and his other distance runners. “That will be a really high-level meet where they will be able to (race) with some of elite runners in their events,” he said. sports@cm-life.com