Track and field prepare for Memphis Invite
Bill Welt
Issue date: 4/17/09 Section: Sports
The Western Illinois track and field team will travel to Memphis, Tenn. this weekend for the Memphis Invitational.
Western's last meet saw 13 first-place individual winners in front of a home crowd last weekend, April 10-11.
"It's always a big deal to represent yourselves well at a home event," said head coach Michael Stevenson. "We had a lot of recruits that were there watching the meet, so they know the kind of program that we try to run. It does a lot for our kid's confidence, even if it wasn't one of the 13 being associated with so many first place finishes. Overall, it boosts the team's morale quite a bit and helps us as we get into some of the tougher meets that are coming up."
Among those winners last weekend were ChrisDell Harris, Nichole Manning and Kevin Deegan who have been familiar with the top spot throughout the track and field season.
This weekend, they will compete in Memphis for a chance to land a spot in the NCAA Regional Championships, which is scheduled at the end of the season.
"We're just looking really to go down there and improve on the things we've done, and maybe have two, three or four of our kids hit some regional qualifying marks and get those things out of the way so we can start focusing on other things," Stevenson said.
The weather may prove to be an obstacle as scattered thunderstorms are expected to rumble through the Memphis area on Saturday.
Coach Stevenson admittedly joked that the only thing he expects from the Memphis Invitational is the rain.
"It will be an interesting meet," Stevenson said. "To be honest, we don't really know for sure what we're getting into. We don't know how big the meet is going to be. In track and field, you worry about your own thing. You run your own race in your own lane, and you do the best you can regardless of the circumstances and competitors."
The Memphis Invitational is slated to begin this Friday, April 17, at the home of the Memphis Tigers and will end the next day on Saturday.
Western's last meet saw 13 first-place individual winners in front of a home crowd last weekend, April 10-11.
"It's always a big deal to represent yourselves well at a home event," said head coach Michael Stevenson. "We had a lot of recruits that were there watching the meet, so they know the kind of program that we try to run. It does a lot for our kid's confidence, even if it wasn't one of the 13 being associated with so many first place finishes. Overall, it boosts the team's morale quite a bit and helps us as we get into some of the tougher meets that are coming up."
Among those winners last weekend were ChrisDell Harris, Nichole Manning and Kevin Deegan who have been familiar with the top spot throughout the track and field season.
This weekend, they will compete in Memphis for a chance to land a spot in the NCAA Regional Championships, which is scheduled at the end of the season.
"We're just looking really to go down there and improve on the things we've done, and maybe have two, three or four of our kids hit some regional qualifying marks and get those things out of the way so we can start focusing on other things," Stevenson said.
The weather may prove to be an obstacle as scattered thunderstorms are expected to rumble through the Memphis area on Saturday.
Coach Stevenson admittedly joked that the only thing he expects from the Memphis Invitational is the rain.
"It will be an interesting meet," Stevenson said. "To be honest, we don't really know for sure what we're getting into. We don't know how big the meet is going to be. In track and field, you worry about your own thing. You run your own race in your own lane, and you do the best you can regardless of the circumstances and competitors."
The Memphis Invitational is slated to begin this Friday, April 17, at the home of the Memphis Tigers and will end the next day on Saturday.
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