Shwantoreah Turk and women's track find success at Louisville
Women’s track and field saw action in both Kentucky and in Ohio this weekend and came away with satisfying results.
On Friday, the Chippewas competed at Louisville University's Lenny Lyles-Clark Wood Invite and also sent a few distance runners to compete at The Ohio State University’s Jesse Owens Track Classic.
Both of these meets, especially at Louisville, showed the true strengths of Central Michigan’s team. Competing and coming in first in the 4x400 relay with a final time of 3:52.36 were sophomores Ravyn Baxter and Bridget Doughty, as well as juniors Emma Fishnik and Shawntoreah Turk.
Turk said the teamwork that was put on display has had a positive impact, giving the Chippewas the fastest time in the completion.
“We just focused on what we needed to focus on,” Turk said. “That is what each of our individual needs were that day.”
Finishing with the fastest time and earning a Mid-American Conference tournament-qualifying time, Turk is excited and is looking forward to continue on in future competitions.
“It’s a great feeling, but having this top time came out of nowhere, especially after I finished in Kentucky last weekend,” Turk said.
Though she has already qualified for MACs, the junior runner said she still has plenty of goals left to accomplish.
“I’ve got to stay focused on the next couple weeks, because MACs are coming up, so we have a lot more competition on its way,” Turk said.
Now that she has qualified to compete in the conference championship, Turk does not feel nearly as much pressure as she felt before finishing and failing to qualify in previous meets this season.
“This past weekend, I’ve got all the confidence that I needed," Turk said.
Turk and the rest of the Chippewas will now be getting ready for next weekend’s meet. Luckily for them, they will not have to endure any of the strenuous traveling that they have been facing in recent weeks, as CMU will be competing at home at the Lyle Bennett Open.
“Being cramped up on a bus for 9 to 10 hours each week doesn’t really help us out all that much,” Turk said. “I’m just looking forward to compete at home.”
