Fielding a new track season

Track & Field opens up the season at the UPS 5-way meet/Linfield Icebreaker

By Peter Melling /// Sports Editor

Following the participation of a few athletes at the Depsey Indoor Open on Feb. 15, both the men’s and women’s Track & Field teams are gearing up for their first invitational, the University of Puget Sound Quad Meet, while the throwers get ready for the Linfield Icebreaker. How will both teams approach their first meets, and what are their expectations for the rest of the season?

This first invitational is less about the intense competition and more about gauging where the team stands early in the season. When asked about the teams’ goals for this year, Sarah Bucknovitz (’17) said, “I think it’s mostly just to see where everyone’s at, and to get the first-meet jitters out of the way.”

Glenna Andrews (’15) expressed similar sentiments and said, “We are looking forward to getting to put all of the work we’ve put in during the last nine months to the test when we get to see some competition again.” She added, “This year, the throwers are a small group, but we are looking for a strong season from each of us hoping to start off right where we left off last year.” The throwers are a smaller group this season, with only four women. The rest of the team breaks down into 21 distance runners (10 men, 11 women), 10 jumpers (seven men, three women), five sprinters (two men, three women) and two hurdlers (one man, one woman).

One of the primary goals this season is to build up a strong future for the sixteen first-year students on both teams (seven men, nine women). Andrews said, “For the team this is a great building year where we are really focusing on team unity and support. For the throwers we are hoping to have at least one person in the top 10 of discus, hammer and shot put at conference.” Bucknovitz shared this outlook and said (in reference to the throwers), “We have a very different team this year than we did last year, but everyone’s really excited and just think it’s going to be a really positive experience.”

Once the first meet is out of the way, the team will focus its efforts on getting into a groove for the rest of the season. This year, the team has two home events, the first being the Spring Break Invitational on March 20-21, and the second being the Lewis & Clark Invite on April 18. On what she was looking forward to the most in the upcoming season, Andrews said, “I’m looking forward to the last two meets. One will be hosted at LC the other will be conference at George Fox. It should be a great way to finish out my four years. Come the end of April the weather should be nice and things should be clicking for strong performances from each of us.”

The Pios will next take the field on March 14, at the Mt. Hood Invite.