With the cold weather finally relenting in Madison, the University of Wisconsin men’s and women’s track teams have been gradually adjusting to the outdoor season over the past few weeks, as both coaching staffs have rested some key athletes in preparation for later meets.
This week, however, that will all change as the Badgers have their first major outdoor track weekend of the season. The Mt. San Antonio College relays will begin on Wednesday and continue through Saturday for both the men’s and women’s teams, who will be traveling to California for the event.
After combining to win three events at the Jim Duncan Invitational this past week, the men’s and women’s teams will look to perform well in the high-powered meets that remain.
Men’s head coach Ed Nuttycombe and his athletes have some big events ahead of them, and the longtime head coach said he knows the importance of each opportunity. He recognizes the following meet as one of the most important of the outdoor season.
“The next three weekends are the three biggest preparatory weekends in the outdoor season,” Nuttycombe said. “This upcoming meet will be huge for us as we head into the championship part of the season.”
This will be the 51st annual running of Mt. SAC Relays, which take place in Walnut, Calif. The athletes will also be competing on the campus of Azusa Pacific University and will run in Cougar Stadium. The event is a highly regarded national meet that will provide some excellent competition for both the men and women taking part.
Nuttycombe realizes the implications of the meet and noted the Badgers’ opponents in Walnut will be some of the best they will face all yearlong.
“The Mt. SAC meet relays is one of the most prestigious meets in the country every year,” Nuttycombe said. “Our athletes will be running against some great competition.”
While the Mt. SAC Relays are part of an important meet that provides a huge opportunity for the Badgers, it is not the only event they will be competing in while on the West Coast. On Friday, select members of the men’s and women’s track squads will take a trip to Azusa, Calif., to compete in the Bryan Clay Invitational, yet another prestigious tournament. Friday’s invitational will give both coaching staffs another chance to watch their athletes run against some of the best. Nuttycombe is excited to see his athletes perform and mentioned that the Bryan Clay meet will give the team needed flexibility before the Big Ten Championships.
“The two other meets in the Los Angeles area give us another opportunity to compete and it gives us some versatility,” Nuttycombe said.
The Mt. SAC Relays and Bryan Clay Invitational will provide a long weekend of competition for the women’s team, but the men will compete in one more event before they head back to Madison. The Athletics Beach Invitational, held in Norwalk, Calif., on Saturday will serve as the last event in a very long week for the men’s team. The event will take place in Falcon Stadium at Cerritos College. The athletes will be spread out in many different parts of California, but they will all be staying in the same hotel and each meet is no more than 40 minutes away by car, allowing teammates to watch one another compete throughout the course of the weekend.
Although the upcoming slate of events will be rather exhausting, Nuttycombe insisted he and his team have plenty to look forward to in the week ahead.
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“We have got a multitude of opportunities this week and almost exclusively great weather for some great competition,” he said.
