On Saturday, March 8, the men’s and women’s track and field teams dominated the Wartburg qualifiers with sophomore AJ Banks, senior McKenzie Reser and senior Lina Maatouk setting new school records. The teams had huge performances all around, breaking personal records and placing high in most events.
The teams had a lot of players looking to punch in their ticket to the NCAA indoor championship. With some of the performances this weekend, Director of Track and Field Chad Gunnelson is hoping to see some of his players qualify.
“We have a chance for a few folks who are not yet qualified to earn a spot at the national championships, so I’m excited to see them compete,” Gunnelson said. “We’re looking at having individuals and hopefully a relay qualify for the national championships, and we’ll have a few folks who are going to be ranked, kind of in the top ten, or in a scoring position, or all-American position. Putting them in the position and making sure that they’re ready to perform their best at Nationals is the emphasis right now.”
While the team has had some individual success and highs, there is still room for improvement. During the CCIW Indoor Championship, the men’s team placed third, while the women’s placed fifth. Senior Lina Maatouk saw it as an opportunity for the team to learn and grow from the setback.
“Well, it was a bit disappointing because we had the capacity to place at least third,” Maatouk said. “There were some events that didn’t go as well as we thought, like the four-by-four relay, but there were some certain issues. It was kind of a heavy weekend, too, for some of us, so it didn’t turn out as well as we wanted to, but we still learned a lot about how to handle those emotions and setbacks, and I think that would help us go into the outdoor season.”
The track team’s growth throughout the season has been remarkable, with athletes consistently pushing their limits and improving each week. Their hard work has resulted in five team members being selected to compete in the NCAA Indoor Championships. Maatouk, Reser, and senior Heather Michalski were selected on the women’s team, while senior Joe Langridge and junior Magnus Wells qualified on the men’s team.
Personal records, besides being a mark of improvement for the team, have also become a clear measure of this progress, showcasing the team’s dedication and hard work across all events. While they may be a mark of individual success, team members such as senior Joe Gibbons know the records show the growth they make as a team.
“Just from an outside look at each meet, we’re able to list off new personal records each week,” Senior Joe Gibbons said. “We have over 100 people on the team, and so I think each week, seeing that our coach is able to list off almost upwards of 100 PRs across all the different running events and jumps and throws, I think that kind of just shows how we are improving as a team each week by getting all those PRs.”
While the team has accomplished some early success so far, they still have a long season ahead of them and need to keep working to continue getting better results and finishes. The team hopes to break more records at a higher level, as well as school and personal records.
“I think continuing to make national prominence and higher conference performances a reality for the team, that’s really kind of the next step,” Gunnelson said. “We have to take from being an unranked team in the country to being a ranked team in the country. I think the biggest thing to do to stay motivated is to learn whether we broke the record or hit a lifetime best or a PR like, there was always room to grow.”
After the NCAA Indoor Championships take place on March 14-15 in Rochester, N.Y., the team hopes to shift their success from the indoor season to the outdoor season that starts in late March.
