Saint Leo University’s Track team is about to begin its third consecutive season as an official participant of the NCAA. After a successful Spring of 2015 and team’s members appearance in the NCAA championships, for the first time in the University’s history, the Lions will have an opportunity to compete in the Track and Field Sunshine State Conference Championships.
The first official season of the track team at Saint Leo University began in the Spring of 2014. For the most part, the team consists of members of the Cross Country team, including the coaching staff. Even though the University does not include a professional track on its campus, the Lions have managed to be very successful in the intercollegiate rivalry.
The first great successes came last year. For the first time in the University’s history, two Lions, Colett Rampf, Junior, and Herns Agyemang-Duah, Graduate, qualified for the NCAA national championships in Adelaide, MI. While Agyemang-Duah ran a time of 1:52.09 in heat 3 of the 800m, and placed 14th overall, Rampf finished as 13th in the 3000m steeplechase with a time of 10:42.24.
The upcoming season might be a little bit different than what the Lions got used to in the last two years. For the first time, Sunshine State Conference will host Outdoor Track and Field Conference Championships. The appearance of a championship meet on the team’s schedule might significantly affect their previous training routine because now the Lions will have a new significant milestone to approach. The Spring, will be also the first official track season for the Head Coach of the Cross Country and Track team at Saint Leo, Kent Reiber.
“The SSC meet in April is extremely important to us. We will get an opportunity to see how our, mostly distance oriented, track team stacks up against some of the other full track programs. If we can walk out of the meet with some individual titles and be in the top three it will be another step in the right direction for our growing program,” said Coach Reiber,
Since the Cross Country season is already finished, the team will no longer consist of long distance runners only. In the Spring, the roster might be slightly changed, and new athletes will have an opportunity to represent Saint Leo University’s athletic program.
“We are adding a few athletes to our track rosters to provide some depth in key areas, but we will only have athletes competing in running events,” said Coach Reiber.
Even though during the upcoming season the athletes will participate only in running events, it does not mean that they will get ready for them, in the same way, they prepared themselves for the Cross Country meets. Nevertheless, the change in Reiber’s coaching strategy will not be very significant.
“The coaching strategy for track differs very slightly in regards to training certain physiological zones, race strategies, and when our athletes will race certain events. Fundamentally the same training principles apply when training track or cross country runners”, said Coach Reiber.
Despite all the changes that the team might experience this year, the main goal of the season will remain the same as it was last Spring. The athletes will try to repeat Rampf’s and Agyemang-Duah’s success and qualify for the national championships.
“The main goal for our team this season is to qualify as many individuals to the national championship meet at the end of May,” said Coach Reiber.
A motivation for the athletes might be the fact that this year the championships will be held in Bradenton, FL. Practicing in the hot climate of Florida might give the Lions advantage over the athletes who will come here from northern states. Being used to the conditions can make a significant impact on the Lions’ performance during the nationals.
The runners have already proven that they know how to handle the difficult weather conditions. Despite the high temperatures during the NCAA Cross Country Championships held at Saint Leo Abbey course last Fall, the Men’s team won the competition. Even though many runners, including some of the Lions, did not finish the race, the team remained the strongest and earned made history by earning first every Regional title for Saint Leo University.
Nevertheless, the most important thing, for now, is to meet the qualifying standards. This is the only way the athletes can become eligible for participating in the meet.
In regards to the number of Lions who might have a chance to qualify for the championships, it is very hard to estimate. Nonetheless, Coach Reiber has his opinion about how many people have the potential that is required to meet the qualifying marks.
“I think everyone on our team can qualify for nationals this year, but it takes a significant amount of sacrifice and dedication so it will be interesting to see who steps up,” said Coach Reiber.
The Lions will have many occasions to present their abilities and try to step up. The coaching staff scheduled ten different track meets for the season. Besides the Nationals in May and the Conference Championships in April, the Lions will take part in many competitions in Florida as well as out of state.
The most competitive, and therefore, most important meets, are Raleigh Relays in Raleigh, NC, Pepsi Relays in Gainesville, Fl, and the oldest and largest track and field competition in the United States, Penn Relays Carnival in Philadelphia, Pa.
Nevertheless, not all of the Lions will compete in every meet that is included on the schedule. The athletes will participate in the events based on their skills set, and the team will be divided into short distance, middle distance, and long distance groups. Since the previously mentioned competitive meets have certain requirements and qualifying marks that athletes need to hit in order to compete there, the events will be reserved for those who qualify only.
The meets will give the Lions a chance to compete with some of best athletes in the country, and the main goal of participating in them will be to meet the qualifying marks for the National Championships. They will not only help the athletes to check their abilities but also, they will help them to get familiar with competing at the highest level.
As the season approaches, stay tuned with The Lions’ Pride Newspaper and follow as on social media in order to get more information about the Track team at Saint Leo University.
