Men's track head coach Jim Sprecher was expecting this meet - the one in which his athletes came alive. But he wasn't expecting it this soon.
"I was somewhat surprised people stepped up on this particular weekend," Sprecher said. "We knew it would happen eventually, but it was sooner than I thought."
Last weekend the men's track team split to head to two different meets. A small group went to the Sea Ray Relays in Tennessee, while the majority of athletes went to Miami (Ohio) for a scored meet. Athletes in both places, though, had the same results.
"We had people step up across the board," Sprecher said. "People who had been struggling came though."
At the Sea Rays, the quartet of Angel Santiago, Chad Asprooth, Josh Hahn and Corey Eloms placed third in the 800-meter relay and was ninth in the 400-meter relay.
Zach Riley finished fifth with his best throw of the season in the hammer throw. He finished one place behind conference rival Dale Cowper of Western Michigan.
"That is actually the first time Cowper beat Zach," Sprecher said. "I know he wasn't happy about that, and he'll keep that in mind when he faces him later in the season."
In Oxford, Ohio, the rest of the team placed second of nine teams in the Miami Invitational. The Cardinals' 113 points were well short of Miami's 161, but Sprecher said the score was good considering the team was split.
"We went to the thing knowing that we were in contention and we placed second out of nine," Sprecher said. "That's not too shabby when you leave part of your team."
One athlete who took advantage of the spotlight was freshman Deshawn Owens. The freshman sprinter won the 110-meter hurdles, placed in the 100 and 200, and was on the victorious 400-meter relay team.
"I saw this as an opportunity to step up and also show that not all the fast sprinters were at the Sea Rays," Owens said.
Sprecher said, "Once we get him going, each week we should see those times continue to drop, and eventually he'll be in the same position outdoors as he was indoors."
Brian Troxell was another top finisher for the Cardinals. The defending MAC champion in the javelin threw a distance of 205 feet, 1 inch. That distance was also a meet record.
Sprecher said other athletes with strong performances included Deighton Jarrett, who placed second in the triple jump and third in the long jump, B.J. McKay in the pole vault, Scott Starost in the shot put, and Ben Daniel, a freshman high jumper who placed third.
The Cardinals will be in action next week in Terre Haute at the Pace Setter Invitational.
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