The Northern Michigan University track and field team have been on a month-long break as the team prepares to enter the outdoor season of competition.

The Wildcats, who began the season ranked 23rd in the nation, have fallen out of the top 25. As the team prepares to enter the next chapter of the season, assistant coach Jenny Ryan, who primarily focuses on the sprinters and distance runners, said that while the time off has been relaxing, the team is getting right back into their rigorous training.

“The team had about five days off to recover from hard workouts during the indoor season,” Ryan said. “Now that we are back I really do push them hard in training. We want to turn up the volume during the few weeks we have off before we re-enter the season.”

While the athletes on the track team are getting back into their workouts, senior captain Delaney Lovett said she wants to focus mainly on staying healthy and not pushing herself too hard prior to outdoor season. Lovett has been competing with a back injury for the past season and said she wants to give the rest of her senior season the best effort without causing further injury.

“I have been fighting an injury for a while now,” Lovett said. “To this point it has not been anything I can’t push through, but my workouts have been much different than some of the other athletes. I have just started getting back into the weightlifting program so I am recovering well.”

The team will be traveling around to Ohio, Wisconsin, and lower Michigan to finish up the five remaining meets in the season. Ryan said she hopes that the team can send athletes to the NCAA outdoor championship on Friday, May 24 in Pueblo, Colo.

“We want to continue our success from the great indoor season we had,” Ryan said. “Every single distance runner was able to set personal bests at their events. We want to keep moving forward and hope to send some ladies to the national championship this year.”