The University of Wisconsin men’s and women’s track teams will be out of town this weekend, as the two squads will look to take advantage of opportunities to improve. Both teams will be headed to the Jim Duncan Invitational in Des Moines, Iowa.
Action will take place on both Friday and Saturday as some of UW’s athletes strive to qualify for the looming NCAA regionals. Several athletes on the men’s and women’s teams have already qualified, but they still maintain they have a lot of work to do.
Nate Larkin, a member of the men’s team who has qualified for regionals, ran a time of 14.12 seconds in the 110-meter hurdles. Larkin, a junior hurdler from Glen Ellyn, Ill., had a breakthrough season in 2009, exceeding even his own expectations.
“Making nationals for the indoor season was a surprise for me and the coaching staff,” Larkin said.
Larkin burst onto the scene in the 2009 indoor track season, qualifying for the NCAA Championships in the 60-meter hurdles. The junior also had a quality performance in the Big Ten Championships, placing third in the event. With the indoor season now in the books, Larkin has his mind set on carrying over his recent success indoors to the outdoor track.
“I was not really sure how the switch from the 60 to the 110 would go,” Larkin said, who competes in the 110-meter hurdles during the outdoor season. “But I am determined to get back to nationals.”
Larkin has already begun to adjust to the added distance and says his NCAA regional-qualifying bid was a satisfying accomplishment.
“The regional mark is something good to get out of the way,” Larkin said. “But my goals are much higher for the outdoor season.”
Like many athletes in the UW track program, Larkin has gradually progressed into the type of competitor who expects to run against the nation’s best. He has worked hard to reach this point in his career but says there was a moment in the 2009 indoor season where something for him changed.
“For me, it was something that just clicked, and I just reached a whole another level,” Larkin said. “I got myself into rhythm and, especially in my event, you get to a certain level where tiny adjustments can make a huge difference in races.”
Larkin and the rest of the UW team have plenty of outdoor season left and Larkin is looking forward to seeing how he and his team perform in the upcoming meets. Friday will be another chance for UW to improve.
“These upcoming meets are going to show us a lot about where we are as a team,” Larkin said. “Once our distance runners get going along with our 800 runners, I feel like we can put up some pretty special marks as a team.”
While Larkin and the rest of the men’s team get ready to prove themselves, the women’s team and head coach Jim Stintzi are also looking to make some more progress.
Stintzi will be bringing a smaller team out to Des Moines, as some of the athletes are in need of rest. Amy Lewis, Chavon Robinson and Gwen Jorgensen have all just recently qualified for the NCAA regionals and will be receiving much-needed time off, but Stintzi doesn’t want to be without three of his leaders for long.
“They have all been stalwarts for us,” Stintzi said. “They are big-time performers who have done very well throughout their careers.”
Stintzi is proud of the leadership role his seniors have taken and knows how positive their effect on the younger members of the team is.
“They are positive all of the time — they get their teammates up for meets and keep everyone working hard,” Stintzi said.
Stintzi also mentioned a couple of freshman who may be in a position to qualify for regionals in the upcoming meet.
“Jenna Severson and Megan Rennhack could have a great chance to qualify for regionals by season’s end,” Stintzi said. “We have a lot talented freshman who are performing well for us.”
NCAA qualifying aside, Stintzi and his team are looking forward to and are focused on the task at hand.
“This weekend is another opportunity for the team to put the spikes on, to run fast, to get more reps in throwing, and basically, to just keep getting better.”
