The track team has run countless miles around the track, sprinted, vaulted and jumped far and high, all indoors. They are getting ready to take their talents outside for the outdoor track and field season.

“In the outdoor season, we get some key individuals who are coming off of other sports. Outdoor is when our whole team is together. We don’t focus so much on the indoor season as we do on the outdoor season; and outdoor conference is kind of our ultimate goal. If we can get our kids prepared through the indoor season and ready for that outdoor conference meet, that’s the one that tells us how well we’ve done,” Head Men and Women’s Track and Field Coach Dale Bahr said.

“Indoor track is the one that builds into the outdoor season, and it really lets us know who has been working hard during the offseason and have prepared themselves and are ready to take the next step,” Bahr said.

First-year Lindsay Rothschiller said that the team has been lifting weights to get ready for the outdoor season and to be fit enough to follow a successful 2011.

“Last year we had a very successful season with both the men and women,” Bahr said. “But this year we lost a lot with some of our strong senior ladies graduating. Any time you lose those seniors who score so many points you’re always leery as to whether the people you bring in can replace them. The juniors and seniors have matured and are getting stronger and better than they were last year, so they’re stepping into the role that the seniors were in [last year]. The incoming [first-years] are doing their thing, they’re learning and they are showing promise, so it’s exciting”.

It will be a tough task to fill in for the graduates who defined last year’s squad, however the underclassmen are off to a fast atart.

“This year has [been] kind of a rebuilding year, but we are happy with who we brought in and what they are able to do. And there have been some surprises along the way as well,” Bahr said.

In order to develop, the offseason proves to be the most important training period an many have taken that to heart.

“I think [the most exciting part of the season] has been seeing those kids mature. Looking at those sophomores and juniors who have developed, there are definitely those who became better over the offseason; they’ve gotten stronger and that’s really key for us. It’s fun to hear those juniors and seniors come and say that they’ve figured it out” Bahr said.

Junior Josh Owens is one of the upperclassmen that have figured it out. This season he has broken a school record for the pole vault, has set personal records and was named MIAC Field Athlete of the Week for his performance in the Ted Nelson Classic at Mankato.

“[This season] is going really well for me. I’ve had really good meets, I’ve broken the school record for the pole vault and I’m seeded first in the conference,” Owens said.

Owens received the MIAC Field Athlete of the Week honor after he jumped 15’7’’ at the Ted Nelson Classic in Mankato. That vault was a personal record for him and the following weekend he broke the school record.

This weekend the team will compete at the indoor conference meet at Macalaster and the following weekend is the indoor national meet.

“We have a couple of athletes who have a good chance of going to Nationals,” Rothschiller said.

Owens is one of the athletes with a shot at competing in the national meet.

“My goal is to go to Nationals, both in the indoor season and the outdoor season for pole vault. I want to jump high, I’m looking forward to continually getting to know my teammates, still having meets and having a good time and getting faster and stronger,” Owens said.

Bahr said that although this has been a rebuilding year, they expect big results out of the team.

“If we can be in the top three in the outdoor conference and indoor conference meets, that’s our goal. Obviously the MIAC championship title is one that has eluded us forever, so we’re making some changes in our recruiting. Hopefully we are closing some of those gaps and making it come together,” Bahr said.