Over the weekend, the NMU track and field team traveled down to compete in the Jet’s Pizza Invite.
While the team as a whole did not place, several individuals and relay teams placed in top spots for the Wildcats, going against tough competition on the track and in the field.
“Last meet was pretty competitive, so there were quite a few teams, which was great. The next one is a little bit smaller, and then we go to another more competitive meet. I mean, they’re all competitive,” head coach Jenny Ryan said.
This is the start of indoor track and field for the Wildcats, with outdoor competition beginning after the indoor championships at the end of March.
“The nice thing about indoor is the weather’s always good, you know, but it’s a whole different thing,” Ryan said. “It’s great. It’s a really good chance for everybody to see our results and keep moving forward. It’s a short season that’s really compact because our conference championships now are only four weeks away, so you’ve got to pack a lot in a short time.”
The Wildcats were coming off a second-place overall finish the weekend prior at the Karl Schlender International at UW-Whitewater.
In field events, two Wildcats placed third. In the shot put, it was junior Teiolla Harvey with a throwing distance of 12.12m. The other Wildcat to earn a podium spot was sophomore Kaitlin Smith in the pole vault, soaring over a height of 3.57m.
“We keep improving throughout the season, which is usually what happens,” Ryan said. “We kind of plan that. We work hard leading up to the point when we get to these first meets, and now we kind of back off a little bit and just refine all the techniques and all the things that we’re doing to keep getting some better performances as we go.”
On the track side, a team of Wildcats took first in the distance medley relay race. The team of four was made up of juniors Ciara Ostrenga, Gianna Hoving, Beverly Harper and sophomore Lamar Gordon. They finished with a winning time of 12:12.30.
This weekend, the team is back on the road, returning to University Center to compete against host Saginaw Valley State.
The meet will begin at noon on Saturday, Feb. 8.
