Badgers prepare for Big Ten indoor tournament
Compiled from staff reports
The 2003 Big Ten Conference Men’s Indoor Track & Field Championships will begin this weekend, but with no champion to defend last year’s trophy. Hosted by the University of Illinois, the meet will offer no favorite to repeat as last years champion, because last year there were no winners.
Last year’s meet was cancelled after the first day of competition following the death of Penn State pole-vaulter Kevin Dare. Wisconsin has won back-to-back indoor conference titles before 2002, but Minnesota looks to be the early favorite this year.
“It’s really four teams, in my estimation, who are heads and tails better than the rest of the conference. Minnesota is the better of the four then the other three (Wisconsin, Purdue and Ohio State) are nip and tuck,” UW coach Ed Nuttycombe said, who has won six indoor titles with the Badgers. “Not that any one of the teams couldn’t win if everything went their way, but I think Minnesota has to have less things go their way than the rest of them.”
The Badgers are going into the championships looking upwards at a strong Minnesota team that even coach Nuttycombe thinks will run away with the title.
“We fall into that group of second, third or fourth,” Nuttycombe said. “We could have a good meet and finish third or fourth. I think it’s that close.”
The Badgers currently lead the list of Big Ten performers in only one event. Freshman Simon Bairu in the 5000 meters is the lone Badger favored to win his event. UW is second in four other events, and the Badgers also have a number of other athletes who are in scoring position heading into the championship.
“We just have to execute. Where we can get guys in the finals, we have to get them in,” explained Nuttycombe. “We’re counting on some young guys that we don’t normally have to count on just because of our roster this year. Some of our young guys have to get it done, so to speak. We have to have a B-plus meet or better and then we have a chance to be second. But we’re not that out of first that we couldn’t win it.”
UW has historically scored a large chunk of its points in the distance events, and this year should not be any different. The Badgers finished first and second in 3000 meters in 2002 with Matt Tegenkamp finishing just ahead of Isaiah Festa. Both athletes return this season and so do all four members of the UW’s second-place distance medley relay.
“I think both the 3000 and the 5000 are key in that we’re going to have four entries in both and we’re so strong in that,” said Nuttycombe. “The 600 is another event that’s key, and we’ve got to do well in. The heptathlon is very key. We have four very solid entries of which all four could be in the top six. If that happens, and a couple of other things happen, then you probably now had an A-minus meet which means some good things are going to happen teamwise.”
The meet will be held Saturday through Sunday at the University of Illinois Armory in Champaign, Ill. The heptathlon, field events and running events will compose the first day, while the weight throw, the heptathlon and all other finals will conclude Friday.