Women's Track & Field | March 28, 2019
KALAMAZOO, Mich. -- The Western Michigan track and field team continues its outdoor season, heading to Eastern Illinois University for the annual EIU Big Blue Classic on Friday and Saturday.
This is just the second outdoor meet of the season for the Broncos, who host the annual Jack Shaw Classic next Friday at the Kanley Track & Field Complex beginning at 10 a.m. That means it's only the second time that WMU's throwers will get a competitive crack at the discus, javelin and hammer throw, three outdoor-exclusive field events.
"The most difficult part about coaching athletes who only do outdoor events is keeping them patient through the indoor season," said assistant coach Pat Tracy, who works exclusively with the throwers. "They want to start competing as soon as possible. There are times when they feel the grind of waiting to compete, but we try to keep our practices competitive and emphasize technical development."
One of those outdoor specialists is senior Audrey Oswalt. Oswalt joined the team after walking on to the WMU women's basketball team and switching over to the track and field team in 2017. The Fulton, Mich., native had a breakout season in the javelin last year, earning Second Team All-Mid-American Conference honors after taking second place at the 2018 Outdoor MAC Championships. Oswalt threw a distance of 147' 7" (44.98m) and ended up qualifying for the NCAA East Preliminary Championships. She is already off to a good start this season, throwing 137' 9" (42.00m) last weekend at the Victor Lopez Classic and taking third place. The distance was the second-longest of her career.
Sophomore Aniya Davis was Western Michigan's top thrower in the discus last season and looks to be ready to earn that honor again. At the Victor Lopez Classic she set a new personal-best distance in the event at 143' 5" (43.71m). The mark was nearly a four-foot improvement on her previous personal-best of 139" 9" (42.60m), set at the Jesse Owens Track Classic last April.
"Usually the first meet tends to be a little shaking when throwing the outdoor implements," said Tracy. "At Houston, they threw well, better than expected. They've been working hard in practice and it's great to see them getting some fruits from their labor. This group, so far, is the hardest working group I've coached and I'm interested to see how the outdoor season unfolds."
The throwers get everything started on Friday with the shot put at 2 p.m. EST.
