Marquette’s track and field team heads to Grand Valley State for the 2013 Big Meet as a final tune-up before the Big East Indoor Championship next weekend. The meet also serves as a final opportunity for personal bests.
After a weekend off, seniors Patrick Maag and Connor Callahan will run the mile. Joining them will be redshirt junior Spencer Agnew and freshman Andres Tineo-Paz, who both fell short of the Big East qualifier in the men’s 5,000-meter run last weekend at Notre Dame’s Meyo Invitational.
Head coach Bert Rogers hinted that the season may not be over for those without Big East qualifiers by the end of this weekend.
“(Agnew) and guys like that are definitely considerations for relay spots in the distance medley and other races,” Rogers said. “(Agnew) is definitely talented enough to get it done, but he just hasn’t yet.”
Senior Ben Schmitz was also close to the qualifying mark in the men’s 1,000-meter run. He will move down slightly in distance and try his luck in the 800-meter.
Senior Kyle Winter hopes to defend his 800-meter crown at the conference championship, but he will use Grand Valley State’s Big Meet as one last chance to take down Jon Schafer’s 600-meter record. The record has been alluring him all year and could come in possibly the Golden Eagles’ most anticipated race of the weekend.
On the women’s side, junior Carlye Schuh will be the one to watch in the long jump and triple jump. Last weekend, she fouled on all her attempts and did not record a clean mark. Expect her to rebound strong before contending for the Big East title in Geneva, Ohio.
Since Wisconsin’s Badger Classic in January, only freshman Molly Hanson and junior Rebecca Pachuta have run at every meet that Marquette distance runners have participated in. Once again, both will be in action as they run the women’s mile. This will be Hanson’s longest race of the year since cross-country season. Pachuta has run the mile at the Badger Classic and the Bill Bergan Invitational.
Freshman Tate Pashibin finished fourth at the Meyo Invitational and will compete in the high jump this weekend. On the men’s side of the high jump, junior Michael Saindon and senior Cheldon Brown continue to go head-to-head. Last weekend, Brown tied Saindon on Marquette’s all-time list. Both have the potential to push each other to high marks at the conference championship next weekend.
One of Marquette’s secret weapons took a hit this past weekend, as junior Connor Stengel pulled up in his race at the Meyo Invitational with hamstring tightness. The issue now is to find a leg as fast as Marquette’s ninth-best all-time 400-meter runner, which is not easy. There will not be any 400-meter runners participating at Grand Valley State this weekend.
Redshirt senior David Carbajal will be the only thrower competing in the shotput this weekend. All other members of the throwing squad will rest before the trip to Geneva next weekend.
Junior Katherine Koeck said she sees the difference one year can make for the throwers.
“I think we’re extremely mentally prepared and stronger,” Koeck said. “We’ve been working a lot on mentally preparing for our competition and we’re just as competitive as any school.”
Competition starts at 11:50 a.m. on Friday with the men’s 5,000-meter run.
