Photo courtesy of Susan E. Erredge.
The Bees are looking for a strong start to kick off the 2024 outdoor track & field season, hoping to take more athletes and nationals to compete on the big \ stage at Indiana Wesleyan University at the end of May. Many school records were shattered after a successful indoor season with 13 national qualifiers in different events.
On April 6th, the St. Ambrose track and field team made their way across the river to face the Augustana Vikings and other mighty opponents to kick off their season, already adding 5 qualifiers for nationals.
The Bees’ team goal this year is to be crowned conference champs on the men’s and the women’s sides, which all starts with preparation.
SAU math major and senior, Anna Pierce, a short and middle-distance sprinter says, “To prepare for the outdoor season, we took a week off of workouts to recover from indoor season and to give our bodies a nice reset.
Click here to read about Gabbi Butler’s record-setting race!
“As a part of mid-distance training, I still had mileage I needed to collect throughout the week to keep myself in shape so I had about 3-4 miles daily. I know many other sprinter girls also did yoga/core/lifting during the week to keep the body moving but resting it from workouts.
“I’m excited for the outdoor season to start because it’s my last time competing with the team before I graduate. I expect the team to build off of the indoor season and hope that the longer outdoor meets give people the chance to cheer on their teammates even more than the indoor season where events can be close together. I feel like everyone learned a lot during indoor season and are ready to use that knowledge during their events in outdoor.”
SAU Exercise Science major and junior, Nathan Boleyn, a long-distance runner on the team says, “I am holding myself accountable and not miss any workouts on days that we don’t have organized practice. I am taking my recovery seriously by making sure to get at least 8 hours of sleep every night and staying hydrated.”
SAU Exercise Science major and senior, Payton Woods, a thrower on the team adds how he is preparing. “I’m starting to think of this season opener as a big meet because I expect to qualify for nationals and break the school record. I usually do well in meets where I’m put under pressure because more is at stake.”
SAU head track coach, Tyler Mulder says. “Making sure that our athletes keep up with their training, talking with the other coaches to make sure we have each athlete in their preferred events, and making sure to communicate with the athletes so they know what is going on with travel and meet schedules.”
Catch the track and field team’s episode of Inside SAU Athletics here.
Kyle Uhl is a staff writer for The Buzz.
