The men's and women's track and field teams will split up this weekend as some travel to Des Moines, Iowa, and the rest visit Stanford, Calif. The men's team, ranked 18th in the power rankings, will look to continue its improvement after placing someone in the top two places in six events last Saturday at Cedar Falls, Iowa. UW-Madison sophomore Joe Thomas continues to lead the team, winning two events Saturday. The women's team, ranked 26th in the power rankings, is performing well, coming off wins in the 4x100 meter relay and the 100-meter dash. It also had four second-place finishes to complement the wins. The teams will be competing with over a dozen other schools as well as most of the Big Ten schools.
While the cross country and track teams are perennial powerhouses, it is the field team that is turning in outstanding performances of late. Thomas placed first in discuss and shot put last week, which he has been getting accustomed to over the course of the season.
The teams will use this weekend to determine who will be competing in the regionals since the season is pasted the halfway mark, and it is time to start having athletes qualify for postseason competition.
\Our team did well [at Cedar Falls] and we're looking for good marks [at Stanford] because competition is higher there than it was in Iowa,"" said senior thrower Courtney Bauer, who holds the UW record in the hammer throw.
While there are still a few meets left, including the two this weekend that start Thursday and continue until Saturday, the focus is slowly shifting to the Big Ten Championships which is creeping up on the teams.
Freshman standout Kayla Schultz threw for a personal best in last week's discus throw earning her second place, and took home third place in the shot put after throwing the second-longest throw in her career. Schultz, who is close to qualifying, has been outside working hard in the colder Wisconsin weather, which will not go unappreciated.
""They've earned the right to go out to California and give it a shot out there,"" said shot put and discus coach Will Wabaunsee.
Except for relays, the events are mostly individual, but there is a strong sense of team spirit, especially since not everyone will be competing in the tournament. ""We have team goals of getting a certain number of girls to regionals,"" added Bauer, ""The Big Ten meeting is also coming up, and that's always in the back of our minds."" The women's team is confident in their teammates and there is little sense of urgency to turn out stellar performances in upcoming weeks. Though, like Bauer said, there are goals to be met.
""We're hoping for 15 girls to qualify for regionals; we're at five or six now,"" said Wabaunsee. ""We just need a little more confidence and we'll be ready to roll.""
Meanwhile on the track the women's team continues to roll, with sophomore Shunita Lucas leading the way after a first place finish in the 100-meter dash and anchoring the 4 x 100 relay. The 4 x 100 team also boasts junior Melissa Talbot who will be competing in the heptathalon.
The men's team has a strong group that has two 1-2 finishes last week, and several second place finishes just barely behind first. Senior Paul Check is coming off a season best at the 110 meter hurdles after burning up the track with a time of 14.3 seconds, earning him his first meet title of the season.
The distance runners are performing well, and after qualifying five runners early last week, they look to finish off the season with a strong performance this weekend that put them in perfect position for the NCAA Mideast regionals. They are ranked 11th in the country after the first outdoor poll.
Thomas seems to be unstoppable, and this weekend hopes to prove once again that he is a force to be reckoned with coming into the Big Ten Championships. Every week he seems to improve his already regional-qualifying marks in the discus and shot put. This weekend shows no indication of being any different.
The Badgers are in action all day Thursday, Friday and Saturday at Iowa and Stanford. Their only home meet will be next week.
