Because of a re-seeding project on the track at nearby Merritt College, the Mills College track and field team has had to find other places to practice and was forced to cancel its home meet, scheduled for April 24 on Merritt’s facilities.
The re-seeding project began in February, though it was originally slated for June, according to Head Track and Field Coach Laura Davis.
The decision to perform maintenance during the middle of the season created a problem for both the Mills and Merritt track and field teams. According to Davis, the Merritt coach has had to find a new area for his team to practice in, though they have their own facilities.
Members of the Mills track and field team that specialize in throwing have experienced the heaviest hardship.
“Half the season, we did not have anywhere to throw,” Davis said. “[Throwing coach] Winston has found places to compromise with for practice.”
Using “soft shots” and plastic javelins, the Cyclone throwers have taken to practicing in the Haas Pavilion gym. But Mills has made arrangements to use Skyline College’s facilities without a rental agreement for the season. This marks the team’s return to Skyline, where it used to practice before moving to Merritt this year.
“The reason we left Skyline was because it is so overcrowded,” Davis said. “Baseball is out on the same area as javelin and discus — but it is better than nothing. It is a temporary solution.”
Making the tough call to postpone the Cyclones’ home meet just a month before the event’s kick off, the team decided to “cut their losses and put all the energy into planning for next season’s meet,” according to Davis.
“Seniors were bummed out initially, but new teams have growing pains,” Davis said. “Any way we did it, it would have been a substandard meet. We wanted to host a meet people would want to come back to.”
The Mills home meet is scheduled for next year, Feb. 20, 2011.
