The NMU Track and Field team has not competed since the GLIAC championships on Feb. 24-25. The Wildcats competed in the GLIAC indoor championships where the team scored 97 points earning the Wildcats third place out of nine teams competing. 

Coming off the GLIAC indoor championships, track and field is moving to outdoor races for the remainder of the season. 

“Excited for a new season outdoor is kind of exciting and also kind of interesting…just kind of getting back at it and just seeing where we’re at after a little bit of downtime and back to training.” Head Coach Jenny Ryan said. 

While track is one sport, it is split into two groups for the season. There are indoor and outdoor options for the athletes to choose from. Coach Ryan says the two sides of track are the same with some differences added. 

“Events…were a little bit different like 60-meter hurdles becomes 100-meter hurdles 60 becomes 100-meter dash just and then adding a few others the steeple chase and the discus and Javelin,” Coach Ryan said. 

Wildcats earned spots on the podium for their races, including second and third place in the 60-meter sprint. Second place was awarded to Baux Truckey with a time of 7.74 seconds. Third place was Jahtivya Williams with a time of 7.78 seconds. Turkey placed second in the 200 meters with her time of 24.58.

Ellyse Wolfrath qualified for the NCAA Indoor Championships, where she placed 12th in the 60-meter hurdles. She was the only Wildcat to qualify for the championships. 

“Across the board, we have we have some strong athletes in every event so really looking forward to a good season,” Coach Ryan said. 

Now with the outdoor half of the season starting, the Wildcats have the weather to watch out for as they train to prepare for the meets.

“We have a lot of adversity up here with the weather and then we have to train on the turf sometimes and it’s challenging, so our group is really ready,” Coach Ryan said. “Also just knowing that we’re tough and we’re used to changing all the time…just be ready for anything.”

Coming up the Wildcats will have their first outdoor meet of the season. The team will travel to Normal, IL to compete in the Illinois State Redbird Challenge. Last year this meet was canceled due to weather conditions. 

“We had a great indoor season so just excited to see what we can do in this outdoor season,” Coach Ryan said.

The Wildcats are not hosting any outdoor meets this season and will be on the road every weekend, including the GLIAC outdoor championships later on in the season.