The MilliBubble Takes Yet Another Hit – The Decaturian

Track practice was much more interesting than normal this morning.

Waking up at 5:30 a.m. for a 6 a.m. practice is no easy task. Waking up is one thing, but staying awake and having even a bit of energy is another story altogether.

However, after seeing a field goal post nearly knocked over and leaning on a soccer net, I was wide awake.

At 6:00am, it was too dark to see the full extent of the damage. The field goal post itself was impossible to miss; it stuck out like a sore thumb. After the sun came up, though, it was clear that this was not even close to the extent of the damage.

The fence closest to West El Dorado Street was completely knocked down, and the net that prevents field goals from reaching the track was torn and nearly completely torn off.

Along with that, the steeple chase for the track team was knocked over, the cover for the water pit was dented in, and the waterspout that is used to fill the pit was spewing water from the ground, signaling internal pipe damage.

So, what could have caused all of this damage?

“This morning around 1 a.m., a semi-truck and trailer left the adjacent roadway, destroyed the north fence, and struck the north goalpost of Frank M. Lindsay Field,” Jodi Silotto, Vice President of Enrollment, Marketing & Communications at Millikin University said. “The Decatur Police Department and Millikin Police reported the crash, and the truck driver remained on scene. We are assessing the damage this morning, because we needed to wait for there to be light.”

This is not the first time that an event similar to this has happened, either. In December of 2022, an ambulance crashed into the old wrestling building.

Fortunately, the Millikin Football team does not have a home game this weekend. However, the Men and Women’s Soccer teams cannot say the same, with both teams having games this Saturday. Hopefully, by then, the field goal post will not be leaning up against the north soccer net.

My track practice was very interesting this morning. Any other practices hosted at the Frank are going to be very interesting for however long it takes for the field goal post to be put back in its original place. Any field goals in practice will have to be kicked towards the south end of the field for the time being.