The NMU track team will pick up their spring season this weekend, opening outdoor competition when they travel to Wisconsin for a pair of meets after sitting idle for a month.
The ’Cats will open the weekend at the St. Norbert meet at 3 p.m. Thursday, April 2 in De Pere, Wis. before going on to the UW-Whitewater competition Saturday, April 4 in Whitewater, Wis.
Sophomore Shannon Flynn said the ’Cats are ready to start the second part of their season this weekend.
“We ended the indoor season strong and are looking forward to beginning the outdoor season,” Flynn said. “Everyone has been training very hard, and this weekend will be a great opportunity to see how we are coming along. This will be a tough weekend, but the whole team is excited to be competing again after three weeks of hard training.”
The last time the ’Cats competed was at the GLIAC Indoor Championships Feb. 28 through March 1 in Saginaw, Mich. NMU finished 10th out of 16 teams at the meet, earning 19 points on the weekend. Senior Brittni Wirtz was the highest-finishing Wildcat, as she competed in the 60 meter dash with a 7.66 time, setting a new NMU record.
“The indoor season went very well overall,” NMU head coach Jennifer Ryan said. “It was a transitional and rebuilding year. For the small team, we’ve had some great highlights.”
Throughout the Wildcats’ indoor season, Wirtz was named to the All-GLIAC team, while Wirtz and freshman Ine Mylle were named All-Regional athletes. Sophomore Avadon James, freshman Kameron Burmeister and senior Jasmine King were also named GLIAC Honorable Mention.
The Wildcats were snubbed of a spot at the NCAA Indoor Championships, which took place March 13 and 14 in Birmingham, Ala.
After the four-week break, the ’Cats now look ahead to the St. Norbert meet this Thursday. Events will consist of high, long and triple jumps, along with running dashes. On Saturday, NMU will continue their Wisconsin roadtrip in Whitewater at the campus of UW-Whitewater. The UW-Whitewater Warhawks women’s track team was ranked second in the Division III National Team Computer rankings.
Ryan said her team is ready to take the next step in improving their competitiveness.
“Everyone is ready to compete again and see what we can do as a team,” Ryan said. “We have a great group of positive, hard-working athletes, and I’m excited to watch their progress throughout the season.”
