The men's track and field team prepares this week for the most important meet of the indoor season this Friday and Saturday.
But preparation truly began before the season ever started, with specifically designed workouts for athletes to reach their performance peak this week.
"The way the workouts are set up is not to have people run their fastest time in the first meets, but have their fastest times in the last meet," head coach Jermaine Jones said. "That's kind of the way you tune yourself up for these championships."
Jones believes the team has some key areas where he expects the members to do well in the two-day Mid-American Conference Championships.
The Cardinals are coming into the meet ranked high in the pole vault, led in the event by senior Paul Panning, who comes into the meet with the second-highest mark of 17-05 1/2.
"There's no reason why he shouldn't place in the top two. I don't think that's a lot to put on him; it's just a matter of fighting for that No. 1 spot," Jones said. "It's going to be the best event of the weekend to watch."
After winning the pole vault in the previous three meets, including a 17-0 3/4 victorious mark at the Hoosier Hills Invitational last Friday, Panning was named the MAC Track Athlete of the Week.
In the shot put, sophomore Jeremy Gillingham's mark of 52-07 1/4 is ranked No. 2, but is 21 1/4 inches behind Central Michigan's Mike Marsh in the No. 1 spot.
Gillingham has also been forced to fill the role of the team's top 35 lb. weight thrower, due to a prolonged injury to junior Kyle Cleaver.
Cleaver will be participating in the MAC this weekend, but because of a lack of consistent workouts through the indoor season is not expected to perform up to potential.
"If Kyle does what he's capable of doing, he would place, but he's got to perform. We're really working on him getting direction on his throws," Jones said. "He's a 55- or 57-foot thrower if he gets the direction, any day of the week. We need that day to be this Friday."
Cleaver is currently ranked 18th in the MAC with his 48-11 throw at the Findlay Open Feb. 13, but a 57-foot throw would rank him seventh in the Conference.
The Bob Parks track at Bowen Field House will be the site of the MAC Championships, hosted by Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti, Mich.
The Cards have not performed at the track this season, but it has been a good setting for low marks with five of the top 10 times in the 60-meter dash set there.
"(Other teams) had some of their fastest times at Eastern Michigan, so we're excited to go out there and see what we can do," Jones said. "Having not run there yet this year, we're really excited about what could possibly take place."
The meet begins at 9:30 a.m. on Friday with preliminary events; finals will be held on Saturday beginning at 11 a.m.
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