Coming off successful performances last week, where seven Badger runners qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships, Wisconsin looks to continue its success at the Shell this weekend.
The Badger Invite will be the last chance for Wisconsin to participate in a meet before running at the Big Ten Indoor Championships next week.
According to head track coach Ed Nuttycombe, the team looks solid heading into Saturday’s meet.
“I think between the two of them (Washington Husky Classic and Iowa State Classic) we made a lot of progress,” Nuttycombe said. “We’ve still got a ways to go but we definitely made some progress.”
One of the runners who qualified for the NCAA Championships last week was junior Nate Larkin, who clocked in a personal-best time of 7.91 seconds in the 60-meter hurdles.
“Every time you think he’s gotten to a level where maybe there isn’t a whole lot more there, he always finds a way to get better,” Nuttycombe said. “That’s my prediction — he will run faster.”
At the Wisconsin Open, Larkin will be the top seed in the event, joined by fellow Badgers Ian Johnson and Adum Gross.
Also competing for the Badgers will be the football team’s Kyle Jefferson, who will run in the 300-meter dash. Jefferson, a state champion in high school, is switching events from the 4-by-400 meter relay. During the transition, he believes his progress has been steady.
“I’ve seen improvement from week to week,” Jefferson said.
Joining the Badgers at the Wisconsin Open will be UW-Lacrosse, Beloit and several other local schools. In addition to facing smaller schools, the Badgers will benefit from running at their home track.
“It’s an advantage because you can set things up to simulate situations that you want to mock for next week,” Nuttycombe said.
Jefferson, who is a newcomer to the UW track team, also feels hosting the meet will be a factor.
“All the people that I hang around that I call friends are going to be here supporting me because I know it’s important to them and they know it’s important to me,” Jefferson said. “To run at home, it’s always helpful to just build that much confidence before we take off and go to the Big Tens.”
Jack Bolas will use the Wisconsin Open to prepare for the Big Ten Indoor Championships. Bolas, a two time All-American on the distance medley relay, ran in his first race last week after an injury. Despite running competitively for the first time all season, Bolas’ mile time of 4:01.19 provisionally qualified him for the NCAA Championships. Although Bolas had a solid start to the season, Nuttycombe feels Bolas can still improve before the Big Ten Indoor Championships.
“He’s not quite where he needs to be or hopes to be but for his first race out, running 4:01, that’s awful good,” Nuttycombe said. “He’s got to use that to build on.”
The women’s track team will also be competing in the Wisconsin Open this weekend. Leading the way for the team will be senior Gwen Jorgensen, who has already qualified twice for the NCAA Indoor Championships and has the second fastest mile in the Big Ten. The meet will also be the last chance to prepare for the women to prepare before heading to the Big Ten Indoor Championships.
