Friday
March 19, 2010
Track success continues from year to year
For track & field runners, offseason workouts may be even tougher than workouts during the season. Sophomore runner Anna Morgan elaborates on the off-season workouts.
“During the summer we probably run anywhere from 35-55 miles a week,” said Morgan. Although it is important to stay physically fit and work out during the off-season, athletes need to rest and take days off every once in a while, especially right after the grueling season ends. If you don’t take care of your body, then it will eventually shut down due to the strenuous physical activity and lack of rest.
According to Micah Shaw (so), “Once coach found out I immediately started working out when the season had ended, he told me to stop and take a break. I thought it would only help me improve, but he had a different view on the situation.”
Preparation for the outdoor track season begins over the summer and runs throughout the school year. The indoor track season comes before the outdoor season and serves as a measuring tool.
According to coach John Foss, “During the indoor season we are trying to figure out where people are individually. We do a lot of experimenting with events and so forth.”
As the outdoor season starts, the Indiana Wesleyan Men’s and Women’s track teams will be ready to compete as each is full of talented individuals. By this time, each track member will have his or her set of events to participate in.
According to Brooke McGaughey (so), “We have a lot of talent in a variety of events and we are a deep team in a way that I could see us having more than one epresentative in each event.”
Coming into this season with high expectations, the men and women look to get some revenge by winning the overall team championship at the conference meet. Last season the men finished in third-place and the women’s team finished in second-place at the conference meet.
Being at the top of the conference is not unfamiliar territory for the men as they have finished in the top-two for nine of the past 10 years, with their last championship in the ‘07/‘08 season. The men have also finished in the top-three for 15 of the past 17 years.
The lady Wildcats, on the other hand, are coming off two-straight second-place finishes and look to win their first championship since the ‘06-’07 season.
Next on the list of goals for the Wildcats would be advancing as many members of each team to the NAIA National Championships as possible.
“The best finish the women have ever had is a 12-place, where the men have finished in the top-10 at sixth-place,” said Foss. “This season we are hoping for a top-10 finish for the men and a top-20 finish for the women.”
IWU has continuous success each and every year, even with the loss of seniors.
“We are very consistent with what we believe in, what our philosophy is and what our priorities are,” said Foss. “We don’t see a lot of variance between year to year; even our freshmen catch on quickly. Honoring God is our numberone priority. Number-two is using the gifts we have been given to the fullest. Our third is to represent Christ, the University and the IWU track team.”
This year the men’s team has 17 freshmen. Although half of its runners are rookies, IWU still has high expectations coming into the season. Freshman Jordan Easley gives his reasoning to why his youth and inexperience will not be a factor to the season:
“My biggest strength would be determination and coachability. I do not get discouraged easily, and if I do, then it is more of a motivation factor, rather than a depression,” said Easley.
No matter what the factor is, the track team seems to overcome every obstacle in its way each and every year. Look for this to be a successful year for both the men and women. The first meet is the Wake Forest Open in North Carolina. It is scheduled for an 11 a.m. start on Mar. 19.
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