The Ferris State University track teams competed in the second competition of 2012 this past weekend.
Along with the first competition the Bulldogs traveled to Grand Valley State University to test their runners against some of the best competition in the Midwest.
With runners from all over the state including Oakland University, Grand Valley State University, Northwood University, Spring Arbor University, and Bethel University plus Indiana Tech University from outside of Michigan, senior Tina Muir stole the show once again.
After earning All-American honors last season, Tina Muir ran incredibly well once again, good enough for second overall in the women’s mile run with an unbelievable time of 5:00.19, which gives her another milestone as that time was good enough to place her in the NCAA II National Provisional Qualification.
“I was very happy with my performances,” Muir said. “I haven’t raced indoor in two years, so it was an overwhelming experience, but it shows that I’m stronger than I thought I was.”
Along with the very impressive mile run, Muir also achieved a fourth place finish in the 3,000 meter event.
Even though the FSU track team is a smaller squad than most, the goal remains to win the GLIAC and improve on last year’s finish.
Key contributors for the women’s squad look to be sophomore Jessica Pilling, who posted an impressive third place finish in the weight throw as well as junior Shelby Janutol who also posted a very strong race in the women’s mile that earned a 5th place finish.
“Overall, the team performed very well,” Muir said. “A lot of people stepped up and ran times they never had before, and that’s especially impressive this early in the year.”
On the men’s side, it was senior runner Justin Price who finished seventh overall in the 400 meters and Tyler Crossman who also placed seventh in his event, the 3,000 meter race.
There was also a solid effort by youngster sophomore Connor LaRowe placing in 8th in the men’s mile run.
“It [the strong performances] gets everyone about the future,” Muir said. “We can see there is a lot more to come. It’s a confidence booster.”
The Bulldogs track program looks to take off in 2012, and after the first two non-scoring events, FSU is getting prepared for the season and looking to run away from the division.
The Ferris State Bulldogs runners’ next action comes on Feb. 4 when they will travel to Geneva, Ohio, to compete in the Division II Team Challenge and look to improve on their early season slate.