MILWAUKEE – The Marquette University men’s and women’s track and field teams are preparing to compete in the Grand Valley State Big Meet on Friday, Feb. 12, which will be held at the Kelly Family Sports Center in Allendale, Michigan.
“This will be another opportunity to put down some good marks on a big (300 meters), fast track,” head coach Bert Rogers said. “The team’s preparation has been great all year with everyone using success at BIG EAST as motivation. This is our last really big meet before the conference championships.”
The Golden Eagles will send 43 runners and eight jumpers to the meet that will feature about 60 teams. Events will start at 10 a.m. Central time on Friday when the men and women compete in the 5,000-meter run, while field events are set to begin at 12:30 p.m. with long jump, followed by men’s and women’s shot put.
Last week, MU sent its runners to the Meyo Invitational at Notre Dame where sophomore Cassy Goodrich broke the 16-year-old school-record in the 400-meter dash with a time of 54.72 seconds, which currently ranks third in the BIG EAST Conference. Sophomore Alec Miller set a personal-best and the No. 2 all-time mark at MU in the 800-meter run with a time of 1:50.07.
MU’s throwers competed at the UW-Parkside Classic where Monica Voudrie set a freshman record in the weight throw with a distance of 15.81 meters (51 feet, 10.5 inches). Sophomore Maya Marion had a tremendous day as well, taking first in the shot put and second in the weight throw. Other notable performances included sophomore William Ford’s No. 3 mark in the pole vault of 4.75 meters (15 feet, 7 inches) and Alex Halloway and Allison Chmelik sweep the men’s and women’s triple jump, respectively.
Last year at the GVSU Big Meet, MU put forth numerous top performances, including Miller setting a freshman record in the 800-meter run, Anton Rice winning the 600-meter run, Kellie Greenwood taking the mile, and many more.
After Friday’s action, the Golden Eagles will head to the Red & White Open hosted by Wisconsin in Madison on Feb. 19. The meet will mark the final tune-up before the 2016 BIG EAST Indoor Championships, which are set for Feb. 26-27, in Ocean Breeze, NY.
From: http://www.gomarquette.com/sports/c-track/spec-rel/021116aaa.html
