Michigan State University Athletics
Women's Track And Field - 2006 Season Preview
2/17/2006 12:00:00 AM | Women's Track and Field
Feb. 17, 2006
The 2006 Michigan State women's track and field team returns a solid group of athletes that will look to propel the Spartans back among the top programs in the Big Ten. The Spartans placed sixth in the 2005 Big Ten Indoor Championship - the third straight top-six finish - and are looking for that effort all season long heading into this spring. MSU returns 16 letterwinners, including seven seniors, giving the Spartans the necessary ingredients of experience and leadership that are characteristic of successful teams. Michigan State has shown its ability for success during the indoor season, and after its fifth-place showing in the 2004 Big Ten Outdoors, it looks to put together a complete season. The Spartans will be gearing up all season for the 2006 Big Ten Outdoor Championships, which are held this May at MSU's home track and field complex, Ralph Young Field.
"In order to improve on last year, we're going to need a lot of people to step up their games and make some big contributions," said Michigan State head coach Angela Goodman, who enters her eighth year in East Lansing. "Last year we had a lot of freshmen and sophomores, and I think this year they've gotten stronger, are mentally prepared, and know what to expect.
"Last year, we had an up-and-down season," Goodman continued. "Our indoor season was much better than our outdoor season. In our indoor season, we finished sixth overall and had a really good team effort. Our outdoor season, we finished 10th. I think this year's team will be able to move back into the middle of the pack - fifth place is what I'm looking for as a minimum for our team."
Goodman has already seen that extra effort in the fall workouts, and is optimistic heading into the New Year.
"Everyone knows we need them to score, so now they're starting to train with the urgency our staff is looking for," she said. "We handed out goal sheets in the fall, and set the challenge at the beginning of the year. It's still really early but they are responding. There is a sense of urgency and a sense of excitement amongst the group, and as long as we stay competitive and keep that excitement, we're going to have a really great year. We had six young ladies qualify for NCAA Regionals last year, and our goal is to double that number this year. The more athletes we can quality for NCAA Regionals, the better."
Coach Goodman believes she can count on several areas of her team to score points, another key asset of successful teams.
"The strength of the team in definitely in the middle- and long-distance events," said coach. "I think we can score a lot of points there, but I also think there are a lot of points to be scored in sprints, jumps, hurdles, throws and multi-events. Overall, we have the personnel to put together a really good team."
In the sprints, MSU returns junior Marquita Allen and sophomore Paris Mandy. The group will also feature freshman Tricia Kowalski.
 Paris Mandy  | |
Allen and Mandy were fixtures in the sprints last season, both competing at the Big Ten Indoor and Outdoor Championships. Allen's top finish was a first-place showing in the 400 meters at the MSU Invitational, while Mandy took second in the 100 and 200 meters at the same event.
"If their training is any indication, I think we're going to see a lot of personal records for those two," said Goodman, who works with the sprinters. "They will be able to move into scoring positions in the Big Ten. We're going to focus Paris on the shorter sprints this year, so we're going to transfer her over to the 60m, 100m and 200m, whereas Marquita and Tricia will be my longer sprinters in the 400m and possibly the 600m. I also have hurdlers that fit into that mix and they'll help us fill in relays."
The middle- and long-distance runners feature several experienced veterans.
In the middle-distance events, senior twins Megan and Shannon Radermacher will continue to compete at both the 400m and 800m, while seniors Aimee Keenan and Brittany Ballard, along with sophomores Nicole Bush and Lisa Senakiewich, are expected to be contributors in the 800m and 1,500m.
Megan Radermacher ran a personal best time of 2:09.77 in the 800m last year, and Goodman looks for her to cross the finish line in under 2:08 this season. Shannon sat out all of last season, but is healthy and ready to contribute in '06.
Goodman said Keenan, who finished in the top 15 in the 800 meters at the Big Ten Outdoors and won the same event at the MSU Invitational, ended last year on a positive note in both the 800m and 1,500m. Senakiewich and Bush both scored for the Spartans at the Big Ten Indoors, and Ballard, who had a successful senior season on the cross country team in the fall, will add even more depth in the mile.
The 5,000m and 10,000m will be led by senior Michelle Rafferty, who earned a spot on the Great Lakes All-Region cross country team in the fall and qualified for the 5,000 meters in the NCAA Mideast Regional last spring. She earned second-team All-Big Ten honors by placing second in the 10,000 meters at the Big Ten Outdoors. Also heading the distance events is junior Katie Kelly, who was MSU's top finisher at the Big Ten Cross Country Championships in the fall.
Hurdles are another unit led by Goodman. She has the luxury of returning two promising young hurdlers in sophomores Jackie Walton and Etienne Chaplin, who are both expected to continue their growth and flourish in their second season. Walton finished eighth in the 60-meter hurdles at the Big Ten Indoors her freshman season.
 Jackie Walton | |
"Jackie is a lot stronger and more experienced, so we'll be able to score there," Goodman said. "Etienne was recruited as a multi-eventer, but has a lot of hurdling experience, so she'll also be able to contribute in the sprint hurdles."
Chaplin will also participate in the multi-events along with senior Anna Coster and freshman Meghan Strachota. Coster focused solely on multi-events last season, and it paid off with a highly successful junior campaign. Coster took third in the pentathlon at the Big Ten Indoors with 3,775 points, establishing an MSU indoor record. She set another school record at the Big Ten Outdoors, this time in the heptathlon, scoring 4,973 points to place eighth.
"Last year was a really big year for Anna," said Goodman. "She made huge improvements and she's very motivated to continue to move up the ladder. She wants to challenge for a title in the indoor pentathlon, and her goal is to compete at the NCAA Championships in the pentathlon and heptathlon events.
"Etienne just missed scoring in the pentathlon at Big Ten Indoors, and then was injured for the rest of the season," Goodman continued. "She has indoor experience under her belt, and is also very competitive and determined. I expect her to make a great impact this year."
In the horizontal jumps, MSU returns senior Taren James and sophomore Chaquerra Allen. James has been solid throughout her career, consistently scoring at the Big Ten Indoor and Outdoor Championships. She placed third in the triple jump and fifth in the long jump indoors, and eighth in the triple jump outdoors last season.
"Taren is an outstanding athlete - she should be in the top three of both the long and triple jump, if not challenging to win both events," claimed Goodman. "I think we're going to see Taren make some big leaps in her performances this year. I think she's making some changes in how she approaches the event, and that will be reflected in competition. She's certainly the main player, the one with the most experience of all the jumpers we have, and I think that her experience is going to shine through.
"For Chaquerra, it was such a learning year in her freshman season, and this year I think we'll see some big improvements."
The Spartans are young in the pole vault and feature only one student-athlete with experience in the event, sophomore Stephanie Miller. Miller participated in four events last season.
"That's going to be a developing event for us," Goodman said.
MSU is also young in the high jump, but showcases a high-impact freshman in Canadian Leanne Pare, who has competed at the Junior National level in Canada.
"We think she can come in and make an impact in the high jump," said coach. "I'd like to think that with improvements she can make as a freshman, she can score in this event."
Also in the jumps are junior Allison Bzdok and freshmen Alison Ashworth, Rachel Burke, Jennifer Heldt and Brittany Ruckes.
 Taren James | |
In throwing events, the Spartans return seniors Erica Bailey and Carol Bantekoe along with sophomore Megan Halliwill. Bailey has taken first in both the weight and hammer throw during competition in her career, and competed at the Big Ten Outdoors in the hammer throw, placing 15th. Halliwill also competed in the hammer throw at the Big Ten Outdoors.
Junior Melinda Buckmaster had a breakthrough season last year in the javelin, placing fourth at the Big Ten Outdoor Championships. She tossed the third-best throw in Spartan history (151-4) at the Spartan Invitational and qualified for the NCAA Mideast Regionals, where she took 20th place.
"It's unfortunate that the javelin is only an outdoor event," said Goodman. "Melinda had an excellent year last year and we expect her to be even better this season, challenging for a top-three spot at conference and possibly a trip to nationals."
In addition to quality athletes, Coach Goodman also has an excellent coaching staff in place. Arndt-Molis, who enters her second season, has led the Spartan cross country team to back-to-back appearances at the NCAA Championships. Goodman also added two new experienced coaches for the 2006 season: Chris Campell and Randy Huntington. Campbell, who will work with the throwers, has been coaching full-time since 1996, most recently as an Associate Head Coach at Fresno State, where he coached All-Americans in the decathlon, javelin and shot put. Huntington, a highly respected and well-known coach for his work with former Olympians Mike Powell and Willie Banks, brings a wealth of world-class experience for the Spartan jumpers.
"This is really a great staff - both for the coaches and student-athletes," said Goodman. "We are going to continue to see positive changes and improvements throughout our entire program. The pieces are all in place for this program to take off and have some big breakthroughs this season and in the years to come."
