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The Pittsburg State track and field teams are gearing up for their upcoming season. The first meet is the Boo Rogers Combined Events on Friday, Dec. 6 in the Plaster Center followed by the Crimson and Gold Invitational on Saturday, Dec. 7 which will also be held in the Plaster Center.
Head coach Russ Jewett is looking forward to assessing the individuals on the teams and see where the teams stand in the first couple of meets.
“Well, the first meet (is) always the first meet,” Jewett said. “Kids have been working hard all fall, but it is still the first competition and a different kind of fitness now than we’ll have later after we’ve had quite a few competitions. So, we’re looking for our athletes to do a great job of preparing during their warmup and then focusing during the competition, just competing hard, and competing as mistake free as possible. Having said that, we will have some folks that are ready to perform pretty well, I think… But… this is getting one in, see where we are, and go from here.”
As far as goals for the season goes, most sports want to bring home a conference title or a national championship and according to Jewett, that is the goal for the track and field teams this season as well as continuing to improve and competing the best they can.
“Well, this indoor season we want to get as many folks qualified to nationals as possible and you do that by achieving a standard, a mark, in a meet,” Jewett said. “So, we’ll be looking for our best folks that have a chance to compete at the national level for getting those marks that get them into the national championship and that’s a process. It might come for someone this weekend but for most, it’ll be later… We want to develop steadily and purposefully. So, we don’t just enter everybody in every meet in the same way every week… So, we want to build toward a conference championship… and really be our best. So, who competes when and then how many events they compete in, that is kind of determined by the plan to be the best we can be at the conference championships. So, we want to be diligent about that and have the end of the season in mind as we march through the season.”
For track and field, those are the main goals that everyone will be working towards. But each student athlete usually has a list of set goals or achievements that they wish to accomplish that season.
“Well, team goals that’s it; we want to win a conference title and we want to place as high as we can nationally, we’d love to be on the podium at nationals,” Jewett said. “Those are the goals. Now all our athletes, we expect them to have individual outcomes as well. But in terms of measurable, outcome-oriented goals, those are it.”
