The track teams, who have not competed in over a month, kick into high gear this weekend. The men's team will head to Annapolis, Md., while the women's team will make the trip to West Point, N.Y.
This weekend kicks off the 2007 winter season and will be a good barometer of what is to be expected out of both teams this year. It is important to get off to a good start and set a mark for improvement over the course of the season.
Having said all that, the teams have many reasons to be anxious going in to the meet this weekend.
But women's coach Gwen Harris says that she has nothing to worry about.
"All I am looking for is where we are as a team and what we need to do in the next couple weeks," she said.
They will look to their four captains, Tina Morrison, Shani Boston, Jesse Carlin and Shaunee Morgan to lead them to victory.
The men will continue to look to multi-athlete Kyle Calvo, distance runner Tim Kaijala and sprinter Grafton Ifill to each perform at his expected high level. The women will look to their four captains, Morrison, Shani Boston, Jesse Carlin and Shaunee Morgan.
One of the most important things about track and field is preparation. The teams as a whole, as well as the individual athletes, look to peak at the best time, right before the Heptagonal Championships and the NCAA Championships. Therefore, meets like this one are important in terms of seeing what needs to be improved.
"Everyone has things that they need to do and we will get the first meet done, then we will talk about how each person can contribute to the team," Harris said. "I have no concerns . until we race. We just have to put some time in and be together and work on some things that will benefit us down the road at Heps."
Harris is clearly very cool, calm and collected about the start of the season. She has no specific expectations as of yet.
"We are trying to get ourselves organized as a team. I just want everyone to compete well and that is all I can ask for."
