Track season in full throttle

People may look at the IWU track team and think it’s a rebuilding year because of the high number of freshmen, and the interesting thing is that these teams want people to think that.

Twenty-eight of the 39 runners on the men’s team are underclassmen, while 19 of the 39 are underclassmen on the women’s team.

This team is very unpredictable because a new person is capable of stepping up at any given time. Ethan Naylor (so) agrees and gives his perspective on the team’s talent.

“We have realized and Coach has realized that we’re much stronger than we originally thought,” said Naylor.

Now that the Wildcats have realized they can achieve greatness, it must be put into action before it can become effective.

The hard work, determination and dedication starts and ends with practice if the Wildcats want to meet their off-season goals. Coming off a third-place conference finish last year, the men and women are hungry for a conference title.

Practice is necessary if you want to become a winner. According to Kelsey Devereaux (jr), practice is one of the teams’ strengths.

“We work really hard in practice and we are really supportive of each other,” said Devereaux.

Although the Wildcats have many strengths, there is always room for improvement.

“We need to stay focused on the larger picture, which is trying to qualify for the NAIA Nationals,” said Will Spencer (so).

The qualifying athletes from IWU will not have to travel far for the NAIA National meet as it will be hosted by the campus of Indiana Wesleyan University. The meet requires three days to complete and begins May 27.

As the Wildcats have high hopes this season, another one of their goals is getting as many people as possible to Nationals. Indiana Wesleyan could be sending several track members to Nationals for years to come if this team competes to its ability at each and every meet.

“We have a lot of freshmen that will be with us for the next four years,” said Spencer. “It makes us a force to be reckoned with for years to come because we will become a deeper team.”

The men and women’s track teams are back in action on April 3, when it travels to Greencastle, Ind., for the DePauw Invitational. The meet is set to start at noon.

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 1st, 2010 at 8:00 AM and is filed under Sports.
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