Students across campus are preparing for their indoor and outdoor seasons.

By Luke Fillers, Staff Writer

Since September, the men’s and women’s track and field team have worked hard to prepare for both the indoor and outdoor seasons ahead of them. They have hit the weights and challenged themselves against the clock to ensure that they are more than prepared to out-run, out-jump or out-throw any competitor this year. 

“I feel that I have improved in many key aspects this pre-season,” said Noah Bise, a transfer sophomore, in an email interview. “And it has left me very eager to begin competition.”

Bise is one of the many athletes on the team who feel that the pre-season had prepared them to perform at their best come first meet. Each athlete sets goals for what they hope to see achieved during their season.

“Individually I hope to be able to compete well in my first season doing a heptathlon,” said senior Bradey Gerke. “And I hope to qualify for nationals in the heptathlon.”

The heptathlon is the competition of seven events challenging an athlete to be disciplined physically and compete in multiple events including sprints, hurdles, shot-put, and pole vault, to name a few.

An athlete’s goal is possible through their hard work put into the practices they have had the last few months. Their goal is also influenced by the support of the team. 

“The team here is very encouraging and supportive,” said Bise. “Which I believe will be the foundation for any success we will attain in the future.”

The support of the team builds a strong relationship between the athletes, from the seniors pushing themselves to compete a four-year-long goal, or the freshmen discovering their talents in a collegiate level. 

“We have a more experienced team with more community,” said senior Holly Holton in an interview. “With strong freshmen coming in and I think that we will be able to push each other to succeed a little bit further.”

The practices leading up to the seasons ahead and the support of the team will impact the performance and results at upcoming track meets. The team’s first competition is at PFW in Fort Wayne on December 7th and will demonstrate the eagerness of the HU track and field team. 

Regarding the team Bise remarked, “this team is special, spanning from our athletes to coaches to managers to our fans and supporters.”