The men’s track team competed in its first and last outdoor track meet last weekend. It was its first outdoor track meet for the 2002 season, but it was also the last time it would have a first meet of the season, after learning last week that the men’s track program was to be cut starting next year.
Paul Krebs, the athletic director at Bowling Green, told the track team in person Wednesday that the program was to be cut after this season.
“I was really disappointed,” said freshman Andre George. “They told us they knew for three years that it was going to be cut, but they didn’t tell us. Now our coach is going to be out of a job.”
The coach lost his job and the athletes lost their team. Many of the track members are thinking of transferring to another school, especially the freshmen, like George and Hunter Downey.
“I think (knowing this is the last year) makes people do even better, especially for the older guys,” George said. “I have to do good so other schools can see how good I am.”
They competed against teams from Michigan State, Georgia Tech, Cincinnati, Iowa State, Ole Miss and Wisconsin and came away with a 12th-place finish. The University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, the host team, came away with the win for the fourth consecutive year, while Mississippi State placed second.
“We did pretty good,” George said. “We had a few people hurting from the indoor season, so we didn’t perform to the best of our abilities.”
The Falcons took a limited number of guys down to Alabama to take part in the meet.
“I think we got a descent spot even though we didn’t compete in every event,” said freshman Hunter Downey. “I didn’t do as well as I had hoped to do.”
Hunter placed eighth in the pole vault with a height of 13-11 1/4. His teammate, sophomore Kerry Koontz, won the vault with a height of 14-11. He was the only one to finish first place for the Falcons.
“I was happy (Koontz) won,” Downey said. “He had a really good jump.”
However, pole vaulting wasn’t the only event the Falcons fared well in. George placed 10th in the 400-meter hurdles event with a time of 54.47 seconds, while junior Zerian Peterson placed ninth in the 400-meter dash with a time of 48.05.
“It was a good competition day,” George said. “We had a really good time.”
Others who lead the Falcons included freshman Durond Clark, who placed 33rd in the 100-meter dash and 32nd in the 200-meter dash with times of 11.11 and 22.05, respectively, and junior Joshua Cook, who placed 21st in the 400-meter dash in a time of 49.49 and 14th in the 800-meter dash with a time of 1:54.59.
