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Chargers prepare for conference championships
By Stephanie Riebe
Collegian Reporter
The GLIAC Championships are only hours away
for the men's track team. The Chargers will face conference
competition tomorrow at the University of Findlay, where the
two-day indoor meet will be held.
Weeks of training and competition have brought
the Chargers to this meet, which will not only establish the
top teams in the conference but also determine which athletes
will move on to the national indoor championships.
"A finish in the top three to four teams
would be a very successful finish for us," coach Bill Lundberg
said.
One of the strongest events for the Chargers
will be the mile race, in which senior Steve Larson, juniors
Seth Folkertsma and Michael Nikkila and freshman Tim Sayers
will compete. Larson is currently ranked 20th in the nation
in the mile and 21st in the 5,000-meter race.
"We really believe that we can finish
higher than we have in past years, a couple of guys have a really
good chance of moving on to nationals, which is exciting,"
junior Kyle Fujimoto said. "This team has a lot of depth."
In order for Larson or any of the Chargers
to move on to nationals, they must record a time or distance
at the GLIAC tournament that will rank them in the top 12 nationally.
Senior Jon Bromley is also looking to advance
to nationals. He is currently ranked 29th in the nation in the
35-pound weight throw.
The Chargers competed at the University of
Michigan's Silverston Invitational last Saturday. The team said
that they took things a bit easier in preparation for the conference
meet.
"It was a low-key meet," sophomore
sprinter Andy Shaw said. "Some of our top guys sat out
of the meet to prepare for the competition at GLIACs."
The Chargers still managed to have high finishes
in a variety of events. Sayers finished second in the mile with
a time of four minutes, 21 seconds, and sophomore Scott Kallgren
was right behind him in third place (4:21.13). Kallgren also
finished 13th in the 800-meter (1:59.66).
Freshman Lewis Butler finished fifth in the
3,000-meter (9:00.89). In the field, freshman Harvey Hyman placed
16th in the pole vault with a jump of 14 feet. Senior Chris
Patton finished eighth in the long jump (20 3/10). In the 200-meter,
Shaw placed ninth (23.80) and freshman Cody Calligan placed
13th (24.70).
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