One foot of snow in West Lafayette, Ind., threatens men's outdoor season opener
Three indoor MAC champions lead the men’s track team to the Purdue Invitational this weekend.
“We don’t know (if we can compete or not),” said Coach Jim Knapp. “We hope we can go, but it doesn’t look promising.
“Our main concern is the safety of our athletes.”
Knapp said he will know today or Thursday if the team will compete or not.
“If we don’t compete, I would like to give our athletes the time to spend with their families,” Knapp said.
If the Chippewas do compete, it will be the first of the outdoor season for the team, which finished third at the indoor MAC meet.
Winning individual titles at the indoor MAC meet were sophomore Jeff Davis in the 5000m, junior Pete Remein in the 3000m, and junior Dana Thomas, who took home the heptathlon championship. Thomas also is the defending MAC outdoor decathlon champion.
The team finished behind in-state rivals Eastern Michigan, which took first, and Western Michigan, which finished second.
The outdoor season brings new events for the team, such as the steeplechase, 10,000m, discus and javelin.
If the team doesn’t compete, it has an open weekend next weekend where Knapp said it will find a meet to compete in.
“I would much rather not go and have nice weather than go and have bad weather,” he said.
