As the events of the women’s indoor track season trail into the peripheral, the team prepares for the challenges of spring competition. Despite a disappointing seventh-place finish at the Big Ten championships, the indoor season revealed a great deal of promise. Senior runner and team captain Hillary Edmondson leads the prospective qualifiers for the NCAA championships in June. Edmondson finished fourth in the indoor finals for the mile following a scorching run at the Penn State Challenge. Her qualifying time of 4:36.12 placed only marginally behind that of the nation’s top-seeded distance runner, Mississippi State’s Tiffany McWilliams. She also reigns in conference titles in both the 3,000-meter run and the mile.

“For the Big Tens, we had to deal with a few injuries,” Edmondson said. “So a couple of girls who actually were planning to run the second day didn’t, and they definitely would have been scorers. I was happy with winning both events, but at the same time, I would have liked to see the team do better.”

Sprinter Shuntia Lucas highlights a talented freshman class, leading the team in both the 60 and 200-meter events. Lucas’s first Big Ten championship meet got off to a rocky start with a disqualification in the 200-meter for stepping outside of the lane. She went on to place sixth in the finals of the 60-meter dash.

“Shuntia Lucas has made huge improvements,” UW head coach Peter Tegen said. “I certainly expect her to qualify for regionals. At regionals anything is possible, particularly in the sprints.”

Other standouts among the freshmen include pole-vaulter Blaire Luethmers, sprinter Venus Washington and distance runner ‘A Havahla Haynes. According to Edmondson, the success of the team during the outdoor meets will depend heavily upon their performances.

“We have a great freshman class this year,” Edmondson said. “There’s a lot of talent. I think they’re really going to bring the team forward in the next couple of years.”

The coaching staff expects continued improvement from the indoor-season qualifiers. Yet the prospect of another conference championship remains a distant concern so early in the season. Assistant Coach Spencer Schumacher says the main concern is preparing for the early outdoor meets.

“I expect a lot of good performances,” Schumacher said. “Indoors, we had a lot of good performances. We had some young people step up. I’m very happy with how well everyone is progressing so far.”

Sophomore Melissa Talbot claimed the pentathlon in the first day of the Big Ten championships. During the course of the season, Talbot also turned in team-leading marks in hurdles and the long jump. However, after pulling a muscle at the Big Tens, her main goal is just getting back on the track.

With the outdoor season underway so soon after the indoor championships, the dawdling Wisconsin spring presents another challenge, particularly when competing against teams who can practice outside year-round. According to Tegen, a great deal of preparing for the outdoor season is just getting acclimated. Schumacher says it also presents an opportunity to start over.

“We’re going back to the basics as far as technique goes,” Schumacher said. “Every year we try to get back to the fundamentals. You have to rush through the indoor season and, come spring, you just have to settle back down, and head for the outdoors.”

As key scorers recover from injuries, the women’s track team hopes for a healthier spring. The team spent its spring break training in Northridge, Calif. before competing in an exhibition meet there Saturday. They will head to the Boise State Invitational Saturday, April 3.