Track prepares for first outdoor meet
Bill Welt
Issue date: 4/3/09 Section: Sports
The Western Illinois track and field team will make their outdoor season debut this Saturday, April 4 at Cape Girardeau, Mo. at the Joey Haines Classic.
Western finished the indoor season fifth on the men's side and fourth on the women's side in the Summit League.
"It's been almost a month since our kids last raced," said head coach Michael Stevenson. "It'll be good for them to get the swing back into it. It may take a meet or two where they feel their legs all the way underneath them and know what they're doing again."
Familiar names like senior ChrisDell Harris, senior Brian Deegan and junior Nikki Klier look to continue their success on the track as they each made their mark in the school-record books.
But coach Stevenson is searching for new athletes to step up starting this weekend.
"We'll start looking at kids that don't get to do their events indoors," Stevenson said. "For example, Brian Pinta and Amy Byers. (Pinta) is a junior and (Byers) is a freshman. They have the 400-meter hurdles and they don't get to run that indoors."
New field events that were excluded from the indoor season include the discus, which gives more athletes more opportunities to take a spot at the podium.
"We have a couple kids that can throw the discus real well," Stevenson said. "Tony Odele can throw the discus very well. So we look for some of those kids in the events they don't get to normally do to have a chance to step-up to the line."
A major factor that may contribute to a slow start this weekend could be the cool, damp weather April is known for.
"You never know what the weather is going to be like," Stevenson said. "Last year for example, the weather was awful. The weather was really bad every weekend. We ran in snow, we ran in rain, we ran in high winds, and those things make it tough for kids to compete as well as they can.
The Joey Haines Classic comes a week before the Lee Calhoun Memorial hosted by Western Illinois on April 10-11. Next weekend's event is the track and field team's only home meet throughout the year.
"The home meet for us next week is a big deal for us," Stevenson said. "It's the 20th anniversary, it's a good meet, and we always want to do a good job when we're at home. We'll even have a lot of kids that won't compete this weekend, but they'll all open up next weekend for sure so we'll be full strength next weekend, and you always want to look good in front of the home crowd."
The Joey Haines Classic marks the beginning of the outdoor season and is slated to begin this Saturday, April 4.
Western finished the indoor season fifth on the men's side and fourth on the women's side in the Summit League.
"It's been almost a month since our kids last raced," said head coach Michael Stevenson. "It'll be good for them to get the swing back into it. It may take a meet or two where they feel their legs all the way underneath them and know what they're doing again."
Familiar names like senior ChrisDell Harris, senior Brian Deegan and junior Nikki Klier look to continue their success on the track as they each made their mark in the school-record books.
But coach Stevenson is searching for new athletes to step up starting this weekend.
"We'll start looking at kids that don't get to do their events indoors," Stevenson said. "For example, Brian Pinta and Amy Byers. (Pinta) is a junior and (Byers) is a freshman. They have the 400-meter hurdles and they don't get to run that indoors."
New field events that were excluded from the indoor season include the discus, which gives more athletes more opportunities to take a spot at the podium.
"We have a couple kids that can throw the discus real well," Stevenson said. "Tony Odele can throw the discus very well. So we look for some of those kids in the events they don't get to normally do to have a chance to step-up to the line."
A major factor that may contribute to a slow start this weekend could be the cool, damp weather April is known for.
"You never know what the weather is going to be like," Stevenson said. "Last year for example, the weather was awful. The weather was really bad every weekend. We ran in snow, we ran in rain, we ran in high winds, and those things make it tough for kids to compete as well as they can.
The Joey Haines Classic comes a week before the Lee Calhoun Memorial hosted by Western Illinois on April 10-11. Next weekend's event is the track and field team's only home meet throughout the year.
"The home meet for us next week is a big deal for us," Stevenson said. "It's the 20th anniversary, it's a good meet, and we always want to do a good job when we're at home. We'll even have a lot of kids that won't compete this weekend, but they'll all open up next weekend for sure so we'll be full strength next weekend, and you always want to look good in front of the home crowd."
The Joey Haines Classic marks the beginning of the outdoor season and is slated to begin this Saturday, April 4.
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