Both the men’s and women’s track teams were feeling the effects of the alleged “DePlague” going around campus this past weekend.
“As a whole I believe we have a pretty solid team. The biggest problem we are going through at the moment are some injuries and sickness,” said senior Marcus Dozier.
The Tigers still performed well, with the men’s team placing fifth out of 11 teams and the women’s placing fifth out of nine.
“Coming back this season has been very difficult for most of us,” said Odessa Fernandes of the women’s team. “We have had a lot of sicknesses and injuries which has been a huge set back.”
However, the Tigers still have powerhouse Dozier, who placed first for the third time in a row with a 16.56-meter shot put throw.
“Our field events have been particularly strong all year,” said senior Paul Watts.
Dozier broke his own record yet again this week.
“As for personal performance I can honestly say this is the greatest start to a season I have ever had," he said. "I have been number one in the nation for three weeks now and I feel as if I am still getting better despite whether I continue to break the school record or not."
Johnny Miller placed third in the 400-meters and four other athletes placed fifth: Brian Mincks in the 800-meters, Brad Burch in the 1,000-meters, Polo Burguete in the 3,000 meters and Tyler Nemeth in the pole vault.
“From here we will just continue to better ourselves as a team and focus on getting everyone healthy and back to peak performance,” Dozier said.
For the women’s team, Dilan Palmer placed second in the pole vault, Ellie Sheffield placed third in the 60-meter hurdles and Claudia Monnett also placed third in the 3,000-meter.
Fernandes placed fourth in the 400-meters.
“Personally I wasn't too excited about my performance,” she said. “I could have definitely put forth a better effort, but I do feel myself getting stronger every week.”
The next challenge? “The next big meet we need to focus on as a team is conference,” Dozier said. “It’s the one that truly matters the most and it is the reason we strive to become better because everyone wants to be All-Conference.”
The Tigers' next meet is on Saturday at Anderson University.