Wrapping up the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships just last week, the Virginia track and field teams now have a quick turn-around as they start their season outdoors with the Virginia Cup on their turf, Lannigan Field.
Last season, the men finished second at the ACC Championships and 17th at NCAAs. Meanwhile, the women placed ninth in the conference and did not rank nationally. Although both Virginia teams held the same finishes in the ACC as they did at the 2015 meet — third and ninth, respectively — Virginia coach Bryan Fetzer is optimistic about the upcoming outdoor track and field season.
“There’s a lot more events in the outdoor season, which, based on the complexity of your team, changes how good you are or not so good you are,” he said. “We are substantially better outdoors.”
Fetzer said in the outdoor season, there are two more events in throwing and one in distance running. These categories are ones in which the Cavaliers thrive, as proven by the first-place finish by junior Henry Wynne and the second-place finish by junior Filip Mihaljevic at the NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships.
However, for some events, the outdoors season can provide some challenges due to the weather, sophomore pole vaulter Bridget Guy said.
“I think [the indoor track and field season] is a good preparation for what [the outdoor track and field season] has to offer,” she said.
Between cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field, a lot of the athletes on Virginia’s squads compete year-round, making it easy for fatigue to set in by this point in the year, Fetzer said. Thus, he has placed importance on giving his teams a rest in the transition from the indoor to the outdoor season.
“Our coaches do a good job between seasons by giving us a week or two off to recoup and get our mindset for next season up,” Guy said.
For those who competed at the NCAA Indoor Track, Fetzer said he is giving them this meet off to help them recover.
“You can’t shift into the fifth gear week one. It’s about managing and making sure you’re picking and choosing your battles,” he said. “Our guys and girls don’t race a ton compared to some other programs, and that’s with [fatigue] in mind.”
Looking at the year as a whole, the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association gives a Program of the Year Award to teams that score the highest nationally in cross country, indoor and outdoor track and field. After the completion of the cross country and indoor track and field seasons — in which the Virginia men placed 22nd and eighth, respectively — the team currently stands at No. 7 in the race for program of the year.
With that in mind, Fetzer has his eyes set on conference and national tournaments later on in the year.
“We want to contend for championships and be highly ranked nationally,” he said. “Our team principal is about getting better everyday in every way, and if we stick to that thought process, we’re going to do well when it counts.”
For Guy, who holds the school record in pole vault by clearing 13 feet and 5.75 inches, she wants to beat her personal record, she said.
“A big goal for me would be to jump over fourteen feet by the end of the outdoor season,” she said.
For the Cavalier women, Guy said she wants to have a well-rounded team competing at the ACC Championships in Jacksonville, Fla.
“One of the biggest team goals for [the women’s team] is to get as many girls to qualify for ACCs and keep putting [personal records] out there in our events,” she said.
In the team’s first meet, Fetzer will have athletes experimenting with different events.
“We want to see where we’re at technically,” he said. “We’re trying to refine skills.”
This meet will start at 2 p.m. Saturday, March 19.
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