Samantha Stein qualifies for MACs, leads CMU track at Bulls Invite
The women’s track and field team has shown no signs of rust after the first outdoor meet of the season at South Florida's Bulls Invite over the weekend.
The team competed to get positive results at USF and were lead by a talented mix of underclassmen and veteran competitors.
Junior Samantha Stein lead her team by finishing in third place in the women’s triple jump with a mark of 5-06. In the process, she also qualified for the 2013 Mid-American Conference Outdoor Championships.
Finishing near the top, despite her lengthy travels to Florida, Steindid her best not to let the sudden change of scenery affect her performances over the weekend. Going from the cold of Mount Pleasant to the sunshine of Tampa could provide for various results depending on the athlete.
After few players qualified for championships last month, it was a somewhat bitter and disappointing finish to the indoor season. The Chippewas knew that they had to go into the Bulls Invitational, raring to go both mentally and physically. This has director of track and field Willie Randolph pleased.
“It was a good meet. Everyone had a good attitude and worked together to help each other,” Randolph said. “I was proud of them.”
Though Stein was leading the charge for CMU, it was certainly still a team effort overall. Her freshman teammate Micaela Conter came in fourth in the women’s pole vault and freshmen Kyleigh Young, and Marsielle McBeam; along with sophomore Milicia Kuldizan all earned automatic qualifiers for the MAC Championships.
With McBeam qualifying in the triple jump and Kuldizan and Young qualifying in javelin respectively, CMU worked together to earn qualifiers at South Florida.
Having so many athletes qualify in the first meet of the new season is something that the Chippewas will use to their advantage in the upcoming weeks. They will not be back home for a meet until late April. Until then, they are expecting more travel time than they have been used to in the past.
Stein and her teammates will now look to this week in practice to keep up the momentum for their next meet.
