Though the end is in sight, there’s still a lot of work left to be done for the Badger track teams.
The Wisconsin men’s and women’s track teams completed a hectic weekend in California, which involved three meets for the men and four for the women, and are now turning their attention to the upcoming weekend.
For the men, the pressure does not decrease, as they head to the ultra-competitive Drake Relays Friday and Saturday.
“At the Drake Relays it’s kind of hard to get everybody in because of the eliteness of the meet and because even if you get somebody in, they may only run once and you might want them to run more than that,” says men’s head coach Ed Nuttycombe. In order to involve more athletes, the team is also looking into sending representatives to an additional meet.
For the same reason, the women will only compete in the lower profile UW-LaCrosse Invitational, held Saturday.
“We need to have the opportunity to set up some heats and some competition where we know exactly where everyone is. At the Drake Relays or the Penn Relays this coming weekend we would not have that choice,” explains women’s head coach Peter Tegen. “When we go to LaCrosse we have all those choices.”
Tegen said attending the LaCrosse meet would allow the team to get some work in their non-specialty events.
One event that has proven to be a strength for the women’s team is the 1500 meters. They will look to carry over last weekend’s success to the remainder of the season. At the Mount SAC Relays, junior Bethany Brewster registered a NCAA provisional qualifying time of 4:20.66. At the Pomona-Pitzer Invitational, sophomore Hilary Edmondson and Brewster finished first and second, respectively, in the 1500 meters.
“I think we were able to work together and help each other out,” says Edmondson of the duo’s one-two finish.
On the men’s side, Nuttycombe is looking towards the relays, which are prominent in the Drake Relays. The 4 x 400 meter relay team of Dustin Rabine, Ryan Ridge, Ricardo Rodriguez and Jvontai Hanserd placed second at Mount SAC.
“We’re hoping to get some good relay times that are going to help our guys with development in their open races,” Nuttycombe said of his hopes for this weekend’s meet.
He also mentioned the 4 x 100 meter relay as a key event. At Mount SAC, the team of Pierre Leinbach, Len Herring, Gustin Smith and Hanserd took fifth in their heat.
With the teams preparing for their stretch runs, it is important to follow up on last weekend with strong efforts at Drake and LaCrosse.
“Everyone needs to get ready to peak at the right time, and right about now people should start running pretty fast times so towards the end of the season they’ll be running really fast times,” says men’s senior captain Jabari Pride.
Looming on the horizon for the Badgers are the Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships, held at home in Madison May 17-19. As they get closer and closer, it is important to build momentum, starting this weekend.
“We’ve got three weekends ’til Big Ten and yes, we need to get some momentum, keep people healthy and just get better every week,” said Nuttycombe.
There is still work to be done, starting with this weekend, said Bethany Brewster.
“We still have almost a month before the Big Tens, so there’s plenty of time for people to run well. There’s a whole month of training yet.”