The Huntington University track team is one meet away from the end of their indoor season. The Forester’s remaining meet is at Anderson University on February 24 with indoor nationals following on March 3 in Pittsburg, Kansas. On February 9 and 10, both the men’s and women’s teams competed in the Crossroads League invitational at Indiana Wesleyan University. The men’s team claimed 9th place out of 10, while the women ended 8th out of 9.
With the indoor season reaching its end, runners and throwers alike look ahead to the outdoor season. Both teams look to improve on their league standings from last spring, as the men finished 9th and the women finished 6th in the Crossroads League. Both sides have talented returners looking to improve on their numbers from the previous season and hoping to push their teams to the next level.
For the distance events, senior Codi Weirsema and junior Nick Childs look to lead the younger runners and attempt to better their P.R.’s from last year.
“[Weirsema] has been putting in the miles in attempt to try and best his last year’s mile time,” mentions junior sprinter C.J. Robertson.
For the women, junior Aspen Dirr has shown that she is one of the top cross country runners for the Foresters and brings her long-distance ability to the track team.
There are also a handful of underclassmen who are looking to make a mark for the Foresters this season.
“Holly Holton has been putting in extra time and has been staying after practice to continue to work on her technique with our throwing coach,” mentions Robertson.
Along with Holton, Zack Williams in shot put and hammer events, Luke Fillers and Adam Woods in the pole vault, and Brady Gerke in the long-jump and triple-jump have been pushing themselves in the offseason and indoor season to mak
e considerable strides in their respective events.
“Both Adam and Phillip have been spending multiple hours in the weight room and have really been showing passion for their events,” comments Robertson.
Sophomore Avniel Barrow is still looking to better his P.R. after breaking HU’s 60 meter
record in December at the Sean Brady Conditioner at Trine.
There are specific events that the team is especially excited about, and sophomore Ryan Lockwood explains what to look for in the field events.
“The throwing events are going to have a big upside this year,” he said. “Our shot put team looks like they’ll be strong, and with the senior leadership we have, we should be solid all around.”
The Foresters look to have a lot of strong teams in the running events as well.
“For both the men’s and women’s teams, the 4×100 relays look really promising,” states Robertson. “Individually, we should be contenders in the 100, 200, 400, 800, and the 4×400.”
Robertson says that for the distance events, the men’s 4×800 team should be able to compete with the top teams in the conference.
Excitement is abundant among the Foresters as they head into the final leg of the indoor season. They kick off the outdoor season on March 24 at Anderson University.
The Huntingtonian 