Bridget Doughty, others on women's track team to skip GVSU Big Meet
With the track and field regular-season winding down, Bridget Doughty and a few other Mid-American Conference qualifiers won't be competing.
Doughty, along with some of her fellow runners, will not see action this weekend at Grand Valley State's Big Meet, but they expect to be in top shape for when it comes time to compete at the conference championship.
“It’s great to qualify early,” said Doughty. “I’m not running these next two weeks, so I can focus on MACs coming up.”
The meet in Allendale will serve as an important bridge for the upcoming MAC Indoor Track and Field Championships, Feb. 22-23 in Ypsilanti.
“The MAC meet is coming up faster than we think," Doughty said. "So, we need to stay mentally focused."
Going into this meet, track and field director Willie Randolph expects his team to compete well with this being the Chippewas second trip to Allendale this season.
“I think that the competition will fare well,” Randolph said. “As far as competition, it’s not really a big meet, but, at the same time, our main objective is trying to improve on our marks and times.”
CMU will also gain a fair amount of momentum this weekend with the return of junior sprinter Shawntoreah Turk, who had missed the team’s previous two meets because of illness.
“She will be competing, and she will be trying to get her qualifying mark on Friday and hopefully qualify for the conference championship,” Randolph said.
Now, with the track and field season nearing the spring months, the Chippewas seem to have things falling into place for them as they approach the GVSU Big Meet.
Their training and mental preparation, according to Randolph, has only improved as the season has gone on.
“I would say that we pretty much have all of the pieces in place,” he said. “We’re going to make sure that those who are qualifying get more than one chance to help the team eventually at the MAC Championships.”
CMU, though young, isnot backing down as the season picks up intensity, and it will try to show its strengths as it heads to GVSU this Saturday. The Big Meet in Allendale will be important leading into the championship season.
The Chippewas will host the Jack Skoog Meet next Friday.
