The Wildcat track and field team will be getting back in the swing of things as they prepare for the 2014 season.
The ’Cats last participated in an event on Tuesday, Dec. 7. 2013. At the event the Wildcats had a few athletes place in several events.
One of the athletes who qualified was junior Ebony Young. Young finished first in the triple jump with a jump of 38-6.25. Young previously ran at Western Texas college before running for the ’Cats. Young graduated from there with an associates degree. Northern Michigan University was one of the only schools that was willing to give her a scholarship to run.
“I would like to set some personal records for myself in the triple jump,” Young said. “As a team I would like to place at the top of conference.”
The Wildcats will have close to 15 meets to make Young’s vision come true. Although the cats were ranked during their last year of competition, Young said she would like the team to become even more united to accomplish all of their goals this season.
Another athlete who excelled at the first event of the track and field season was senior Cheyenne Stewart. Stewart placed second behind Young in the triple jump and placed first in the long jump with a jump of 17-10.75.
A few other team members were able to place in other events. Junior Brittni Wirtz placed first in both the 200 and 60 meter events. Senior Sydney Schultz placed third in the 300 meter dash while freshman Jordan Devenney placed fifth in the pole vaulting event.
Many of the ’Cats were able to place in events at their first meet of the season and last meet of 2013. Sophomore Melaina Mrozek was one of the many Wildcats to place at the first event of the season. Mrozek also placed in the pole vaulting event, grabbing tenth place. Mrozek said the team has really focused on training, practicing six days a week.
“Our training starts at 5:45 a.m. in the weight room,” Mrozek said. “We follow that up with an afternoon practice that focuses on our running techniques and training for our specific event.”
The Wildcats were ranked 14th in the country last season and finished seventh in the GLIAC.
The ’Cats had 22 athletes named to the GLIAC academic team last season. They also had five athletes selected All-Region by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association.
Much like Young, Mrozek said she would like to place in the top three within the conference.
“My goals as an individual would be to become a consistent 3.5 meter vaulter,” Mrozek said. “And as a team, our goal is to perform well together.”
The Wildcats will be getting ready for the next event early into the semester. The cats will be participating in the Karl Schlender invitational on Saturday, Jan. 18 in Whitewater, WI.
