BY DILLON SAND
Staff Reporter
This weekend marks the most important track meet of the season, the Great Northwest Athletic Conference Outdoor Championships starting on May 9.
All qualifying athletes from the GNAC will have their last chance to either improve their personal and school best marks or try to make it to Nationals.
Central is arriving to the championships in one of its best positions in recent years. About 45 total athletes will make the trip to McArthur Stadium, which is on the campus of Western Oregon University, where the championships will be held.
Head coach Kevin Adkisson expects a strong showing from both the male and female athletes on the team this year but says his women this year have really stepped it up.
“Our men’s team is always very competitive, but this year our women have really stepped it up and are very good and looking to show that this weekend,” Adkisson said.
With the women’s side of the team as strong as ever, and the men holding their ground as one of the best in the conference, the team is primed for a great outing at the Championships.
Leading the group are standout’s Tayler Fettig, Becki Duhamel and Dani Eggleston.
Fettig, a junior, has been one of the most consistent athletes on the team and will be competing in the high jump, long jump and 100-meter hurdles this weekend.
Duhamel will be competing in multiple throwing events at the championship, including the hammer throw, her best event.
Eggleston, already ranked No. 22 nationally in the steeplechase, will try to improve on her school record time that she set at Western Washington’s Vernnachia Open last weekend.
On the men’s side of the team, standouts Harish Prasad, Kent McKinney Jr., and Kevin Stanley look to lead the team to another strong showing. Prasad, a sophomore sprinter, will be competing in the 100-meter run and the 4×400 races this weekend for the first time at the Championships.
“This is my first time going so I’m excited to show what I can do,” Prasad said.
Kent McKinney Jr., also a sprinter, will be competing in the 100 and 200-meter sprints as well as the 4×400. McKinney competed last year in the Championships but looks to improve his times to eventually make Nationals.
Stanley, a junior, is currently the conference leader in the hammer and third in shot put. Stanley is hoping to add on to his already record breaking season for Central with a good showing at the Championships with hope that his marks are good enough for Nationals.
Adkisson believes that not only individual athletes will have a great weekend for Central but also the team as a whole, hoping to improve on their positioning last year,
“Every season the goal is to improve on marks from last season and I believe that we have put ourselves in great position to do that,” Adkisson said.
With the team improving throughout the season and with the several standout athletes that Central already possesses, the outlook on the Championships have never been better. For anyone looking to join the Wildcats on their trip, tickets are still available online through the GNAC website.
“I’m very excited to see the improvement we made as a team this year,” Adkisson said. “From top to bottom, we’ve worked really hard all season and it’s about to pay off.”
