The men’s and women’s track teams completed their winter seasons on a high note, as both teams achieved strong performances in their final events of the season at ECAC Championships. Now that spring break has passed, the track teams which competed indoors during the winter months begin competing in outdoor events next weekend when the team heads to Virginia.
The first several meets of the spring season are used as a transition period from indoors to outdoors. Although there are similarities between the winter and spring seasons, several events are added, including the discus throw, javelin throw, hammer throw and decathlon, making the spring season different in many ways as well.
As with the indoor track season, the spring team uses the early events in the season as preparation for some of the later, more significant meets. Toward the end of the season, the team will compete in the ECAC Championships, State Championships, and if all goes as planned, Nationals as well. Coach John Izzo thinks he has a “very solid team outdoors,” and looks for them to be “extremely competitive.”
In addition to improving from the past several months competing indoors, the team also looks to improve on its performances last spring. The men’s team performed very solidly last year, finishing third at both ECAC’s and States. Instead of remaining content with past performances, however, the entire team looks to build on their previous achievements. When asked about their expectations for ECAC Championships and State Championships, they all enthusiastically responded “Number One!”
Before the teams go to those meets later this spring, both the men’s and women’s teams must first contend with the smaller events, including the meet they have in Virginia next weekend. There, they look to establish themselves as strong outdoor teams and begin the adjustment period from indoors to outdoors that will carry them throughout the season to their goals of culminating the season at Nationals.
Swidler can be reached at dswidler@campustimes.org.
