Looking for greatness
by Brent Neevel, Sports Writer
The Badger men’s track team put an impressive cap on an impressive season by finishing 10th at the indoor nationals after winning the Big Ten Indoor Title. However, they are not about to rest on their laurels. Add a few more athletes to the mix along with more experience for everyone else and this young Badger squad has high expectations.
“It was a very impressive indoor season, one that we didn’t expect,” said UW assistant coach Mark Napier. “Going into the meet (Big Ten Championships), we didn’t think we were the favored ones, but these guys know how to compete and know how to step it up.
Outdoors, one would think that we would be even better, barring injuries, and stuff like that … When you are dealing with the majority of the team being freshmen and sophomores, the more training, the better they’re getting. So I guess we have high expectations, and hopefully we do a lot more at the national level at outdoors.”
Youth combined with a few new additions could very well be the key to helping the team reach some of their goals.
“We have three freshman discus throwers, and I think they have a lot of potential, more than we’ve had here in quite some time,” Napier said. “Our distance crew is very young, but extremely talented. We are looking for a lot of big things there, and we hope to see a lot more in the sprints. We have got Scott Starks, Levonne Rowan out now, and them with Demi Omole should be a pretty awesome three guys there at the conference level. Maybe [they will] even scratch the surface at the national level in the [4 X 100-meter relay].”
Despite all their youth, the Badgers are not short on senior leadership.
“We have some silent leaders. They lead by example instead of by talking. I think for both Ryan [Tremelling] and Ashraf [Fadel], this is their senior season. This is their big event coming up, decathlon,” Napier said. “I think they have high expectations, and with them as the leaders of the group and people watching them, you know, it helps bring up the younger guys.”
These two seniors set a great example for the rest of the team. They focus more on the outcome of the team rather than their individual outcomes.
“It doesn’t really matter how I do personally unless the team does well,” Tremelling said. “So the Big Ten, of course, you want to win it. That is probably priority No. 1. After that, everything else would be a bonus, but I would like to win the Big Ten decathlon. If I don’t, I want my teammate to. Other than that, I would like to put up a couple of [personal records]. I’d like to go to nationals with a little higher score this year.”
However, individual outcomes are still very important to them, and they compete with each other to improve themselves.
“Coming off the indoor season, I have high expectations,” Fadel said. “First is a team goal: a Big Ten Championship outdoors. Last year we kind of got upset, and got sixth. So that is the No. 1 goal. The second goal, individually, is to beat my teammate Ryan [Tremelling] and become outdoor champion for the decathlon.”
With these two seniors as two of the four captains, the team has willing leaders who are pointing toward success, even if they both didn’t see it that way from the beginning.
“Four years ago, I would have never thought I would be a captain,” Tremelling said. “Being a captain, it kind of fits the role now. It just seems like a good fit.”
Fadel sees it a different way, though.
“I’ve always thought of myself as kind of a leader, and to get elected by your teammates is an honor,” Fadel said. “Also, they put some trust in you, and you can’t really lose their trust.”
Along with fellow senior captains Matt Tegenkamp and Jon Mungen, Fadel and Tremelling look to lead the Badgers to a successful outdoor season in their last go-around.
