The unseasonably warm weather has not only been great for the normally frozen students around campus, but it also has been quite the aid to the indoor track and field team. For a team that usually spends most of the winter cooped up in the Wellness Center, this was a welcome surprise.
“We were able to get onto the outdoor track and get some real quality work in,” stated Head Coach Jason Fast. Whatever the effects of the high temperatures, the team is making great strides. “We have had our best start yet,” said Fast. “Both the men and women’s teams have been doing very well with training.”
At the UW-Stevens Point Invitation last Saturday, the Vikings had some exceptional individual performances. Perhaps most notable was the stellar debut of freshman Anna Bolgrien. Finishing in an impressive 10.07 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles, Bolgrien grabbed third place overall.
Senior standout Emily Muhs took fifth in the mile run with her time of 5:43. Later in the meet, she placed eighth in the 3,000-meter run. Senior Rosie Graber ran a solid 2:37 for the half mile to garner her the sixth place award.
The most impressive finish of the day on the men’s side was from freshman Kyle Dockery, who clocked a 9-minutes-and-three-seconds 3,000-meter run to take third overall. This time was only 10 seconds off Lawrence’s record, and Coach Fast is excited about the prospect of chasing that down over the course of this season.
On the field side, senior Nick Kerkman took fourth in the weight throw with his toss of 13.69 meters, and he also nabbed fifth in the shot with his throw of 12.16 meters.
Fast knows that to keep this momentum, the work ethic of the Vikings, which has been solid, must maintain its vigor. “We are in great shape, so our biggest focus over the next few weeks needs to be consistency in training,” he stated. Fast noted that this momentum may also be due in part to the influx of new talent over the past couple years: “We definitely have much more talent than we have had in years past.”
The athletes are excited too. Sophomore Dan Thoresen, who took sixth in the mile on Saturday, stated, “This has been a great couple weeks for workouts, and I’m excited to see the times drop.”
The Vikings have a week off before heading to the Jan. 27 UW-Oshkosh Invitational.