Just two meets away from the Mid-American Conference Championships, the men's track team is peaking at the right moment.
The Cards are coming off a split-squad weekend in which part of the team traveled to Des Moines, Iowa for the Drake Relays and the others went to the Big Ten Preview Invitational at Purdue.
It was no surprise that most of BSU's competing athletes at the Drake Relays did not place high. However, some of their marks were the best of the season.
The Drake Relays features some of the top athletes around the country, including the best unattached athletes and Olympic hopefuls.
"(The team that went to Drake) kind of got an opportunity to see what they're up against as far as trying to get into that regional meet," coach Jermaine Jones said. "The stiffer the competition, the more we're going to get pulled to do our best."
Senior pole vaulter Paul Panning tied for fourth at Drake with his season-best mark of 17-0 34, the fifth straight meet in which he has regionally qualified for the NCAA Championships.
The 4x200 relay team put up a season-best performance with its 11th place mark of 1:27.57. The sprint medley team also had a season-best time at 3:36.15; it finished 16th place.
At Purdue, the team had another strong showing in the javelin, finishing first, second and fourth.
Senior Andrew Miller won the event with his mark of 194-6 while junior Tom Green took second at 181-2. Junior Ed Beven finished fourth with a throw of 169-10.
Kyle Cleaver won the discus, putting up the team's season-best mark of 159-8. Cleaver, whose bad back has prevented him from competing in the hammer throw, is currently one of two athletes nursing a minor injury.
Jason Howard, the team's top triple jumper, has a bum knee, an injury he suffered at the Pacesetter Invitational April 17.
"Cleaver has been building up over time with the hammer because it puts so much stress on your back," Jones said. "Jason started coming on pretty nice and had some consistent jumps in the triple jump before he hurt his knee so that is a good sign."
The team will return to full squad Saturday in Indianapolis for the Butler Twilight.
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