The Northern Michigan track and field team hit the road to compete in the 2012 GLIAC Championships held in Findlay, Ohio last weekend, finishing seventh.
Ranked No. 14 in the nation, the ’Cats broke three school records, had four provisional qualifiers for the NCAA Nationals and one automatic qualifier by the end of Saturday.
Head coach Tom Barnes said, although the team placed lower than they expected, the team worked hard and performed very well.
“The team is a very seasoned team,” Barnes said. “They all shined and didn’t get nervous. They know what they have to do, and that is the kind of team we are.”
The ’Cats started off strong, breaking two school records and finishing the first day in sixth place. In the 60-meter dash finals, freshman Angelina Howard placed fifth and senior Catherine Angeli placed seventh.
Angeli also qualified for the 200-meter dash finals, placing fourth place with an NMU record time of 25.18 seconds.
Redshirt freshman Sherice Hewett was named Freshman of the Year for the indoor season. In the 60-meter hurdles, Hewett broke another school record in preliminaries at 9.03 seconds, just missing finals. She also broke a conference record in the triple jump by jumping 12.24 meters. Sophomore Delaney Lovett also scored points for the team, placing fifth in triple jump.
Hewett said the team was at its peak, and her performance was a product of goals set by everyone.
“As a team, patience has been something we are told to remember,” Hewett said. “There were times that I would aim at a goal and, although I wouldn’t reach it, if I remained patient, I could always work to get closer to it.”
In the mile run, sophomore Mandy Dye took ninth place, followed by junior Nora Kiilunen in 10th and freshman Larissa Halonen in 11th.
Freshman Mallory Celaya placed eighth in the 5,000-meter run, breaking another school record with a time of 18:19. Celaya also placed 10th in the 3,000-meter run.
Seniors Bailey Franklin and senior Melissa Christensen competed in the long jump, placing seventh and eighth, respectively. Sophomore Samara White also competed in the event, placing 14th.
Franklin said the team is ready for the next challenge coming away from the championship weekend, including her appearance at Nationals.
“I know as a team we were a bit disappointed in how we placed overall, but so many good things did come out of that meet,” Franklin said. “A lot of people hit new personal records, and with that we had a few more provisional and automatic marks for Nationals.”
Four Wildcats competed in the pentathlon on Friday. Melissa Christensen placed seventh, junior Brooke Granquist placed ninth and sophomore Katie Searles and junior Mariah Beaman placed 10th and 11th, respectively.
In the pole vault, NMU sophomore Jaime Roberts tied a Grand Valley State athlete for second place with a jump of 3.8 meters.
Three athletes will represent NMU at NCAA Division II Nationals, with Roberts in the pole vault, Franklin in the high jump and Hewett in the triple jump. Franklin said the three ’Cats are focusing on the upcoming events.
“For most athletes, you want to go in at it just like it’s any other meet,” Franklin said. “If you over think it, you will perform badly. You just have to trust in yourself and your training at this point.”
NCAA Nationals will be held in Mankato, Minn. on March 9 and 10, with the possibility of other teammates with provisional marks joining the three qualifiers.
“This is the best squad we’ve ever had,” Barnes said. “We have three going to the Nationals and they represent the whole team. They didn’t get there by themselves, and they know that. They got there with all of the support and the hard work of their teammates and that catches.”
