The Wisconsin women?s track and field team will combine experience with a solid core of underclassmen, as freshmen and sophomores comprise more than 60 percent of this year?s squad.

?Overall, this is a pretty young team with considerable talent,? head coach Peter Tegen said.

Senior captains Hillary Edmondson, a middle-distance runner; Greta Bauer, who specializes in hurdles and long sprints; and Kym Hubing, a long sprinter, will lead the Badgers this season. As seniors, they bring experience and leadership, as well as an understanding of the rigors of the Big Ten conference and the expectations of the coaching staff.

Eager to improve on last season?s sixth-place finish in the Big Ten Indoor Championships, the team returns two All-Americans in Edmondson and sophomore Tara Halls.

?Coming in fourth would be good,? Tegen said. ?It will just take an overall team effort, that we get point contributions from all across the events, and that?s how it can happen.?

In past seasons, Wisconsin?s underclassmen have proven they have the ability to compete at the collegiate level. Last year?s freshman class proved they were of competitive nature as eight of them scored on the Big Ten level. Similar contributions will be expected from this year?s incoming freshman class.

?We have a good freshman class that can help out a lot,? said Hubing.

More than half of the Badgers? 2002-03 freshman class set personal bests last season and provided needed depth and scoring in several events.

?Our freshman classes during the last two years have been the largest in the history of the program, and we are expecting a few of our younger athletes to contribute this year,? Tegen said. ?As for the sophomores, I am expecting even more progress from all of them this year, and we are convinced they will be able to rise to the highest level of competition. I would expect a lot of good competition from the upperclassmen, and they can really lead the way, and hopefully the freshmen can chime in.?

Early in the season, the freshmen have not disappointed. In particular, freshman sprinter Shuntia Lucas has made the biggest impact. Lucas, a Benton Harbor, Mich., native, won three events in the Badger Track Classic, the first indoor meet of the year.

Lucas won the 60-meter dash in a personal-best time of 7.78 seconds and won the 200 meters in 25.19 seconds to move to sixth on the UW all-time list. Lucas was also a member of the winning 4×400-meter relay. As a result of her performances, she was named the Big Ten Conference women?s track athlete of the week.

?I most definitely think it was a shock for the team for me to come out and do that well in the first track meet, but everyone was proud, so I was happy too,? Lucas said.

While Lucas is happy with her performance in her first college meet, she still hopes to improve in certain areas and realizes it is a long season.

?One thing that I know I have to work on is a lot of lifting,? Lucas said. ?I?m still a little tiny, so I have to work on lifting. Right now my strength is my quickness, so I?m really quick, but I still need power behind it.?

Other freshmen with notable performances in the opening meet include Venus Washington, who finished second behind Lucas in both individual events, and Marcia Taddy, who won the 600 meters.

Despite high expectations for the freshman class, the underclassmen will not be asked to do anything that they are not capable of.

?We definitely want them to know that we are expecting a really good effort from them, Tegen said. ?It would probably be unfair to put all your bets on the freshmen, but quite a few of our freshmen have the challenge to participate at this competitive level.?

Having a lot of underclassmen can often be a liability for a program, but the Badgers? large group of freshmen who can make immediate contributions should make Wisconsin a more balanced team.

The biggest surprise thus far may be how well Wisconsin has fared in the sprinting events, as the program has traditionally specialized in long-distance events.

?We?ve always been an extremely good distance team and that still is our strength, but interestingly this year we are pretty well-rounded,? Bauer said. ?There is going to be a lot of surprises.?

Tegen, who is in his 30th and final season with women?s track and field, would like nothing better than to see his team improve all around and be a factor in the Big Ten race. ?I think the coaches are happy with the performances now, but I think they are also looking forward to the next couple years,? said Hubing.