This weekend the indoor season picks up as the University of Wisconsin men and women’s track teams host the Wisconsin Elite Invitational at the Shell on Friday and Saturday.
The Badgers will compete against Marquette, UW-Milwaukee, Illinois State and a host of individually invited athletes in an event UW has anxiously been awaiting since both teams finished in a disappointing third place at the Notre Dame Invitational.
“It’s nice because the local fans can get out and get a chance to see us and its nice for our athletes because the preparation is a little bit simpler, and its just a chance for them to perform in front of a home crowd,” women’s head track coach Jim Stintzi said. “It’s definitely good for the team morale.”
Coming off of an impressive mile race at the Notre Dame Invitational, senior Gwen Jorgensen will certainly look to showcase her talent in front of the Badger faithful. Her time of 4:46.09 earned her the country’s fourth-fastest time in the event and her provisional time qualified her for the NCAA meet later on this season. Although impressive, Stintzi thinks there’s more to come.
“It was a good indicator that Gwen is more or less where we want her to be,” Stintzi said. “I’m pleased that she can post that kind of a time in her first meet and I think it’s a strong indicator that she’s going to run even better when she runs the 3k or the 5k.”
The quartet of Amanda Donath, Nicole Slaby, Jenna Severson and Egle Staisiunaite will look to repeat their performance in the women’s 4-by-400 from the Notre Dame Invitational where they posted a first place time of 3:50.96.
“The addition of a healthy Amanda Donath is a really big thing for us, you know, she’s still sort of getting her feet back under her from being out last year and I think each week she’s going to get better and better,” Stintzi said. “When she’s healthy the 4×4 is better.”
Stintzi was quick to point out that although the 4×400 might be one of the most appealing events for spectators, its still only a fraction of the team.
Guiding the men’s team will undoubtedly be sophomore Zach Beth, who broke his personal best in the men’s 800-meter with a time of 1:50.71 at the Notre Dame Invitational. Even more impressive, it was his first 800-meter race of the young season.
“That was pretty surprising given it was our first 800 of the year, but then again I’m in better shape than I was in last year, I knew that, I just wasn’t expecting [to break my personal record] in the first race of the year,” Beth said. “I can definitely lower that time, that race felt comfortable, especially with more people pushing me — I expect to get a better time.”
Another staple of the men’s team is the 4×400 relay, which also won gold at their most recent meet. The team, quickly improving, shaved close to three seconds off their already impressive 3:17.31 time from the Badger Track Classic. The team has taken first at their past two events.
“You know the 4×4 is 10 points, and if we can pull that out, I mean, it would only help the team,” said Beth. “Then again, it’s only 10 points.”
The Badgers will also count on Nate Larkin to contribute, a junior from Glen Ellyn, Ill., who has won gold at two consecutive meets in the 60-meter hurdles. His most recent victory was clocked at 7.99 seconds, Larkin’s personal best and a mark just 0.08 seconds off the NCAA provisional time.
With such talented individual distance runners and swiftly improving 4×400 relay teams, both the men and women’s teams have high expectations for this weekend’s Wisconsin Elite Invitational.
“We don’t necessarily have somebody in every single event because we might be resting people, but if we got Badgers in an event, whether they’re running for the team or redshirted, meaning unattached, we want a Badger to win,” Stintzi said.
