KARLA SHIRVANIAN | staff writer

Holding 23 of the 27 national championships for APU, the track and field team has the ability to sweep nationals this season. Coming back from an impressive 2007 season, the Cougars hope to keep the momentum going to a strong showing at the indoor and outdoor NAIA Championships.

Track and field is a complicated game that has many aspects to it. There are several meets throughout the season but these are all working toward qualifying for the championships. There are times or distances that have to be met in order to qualify. It is about progressively doing better each week. It is about beating personal bests to individually qualify for the championship.

Once at the championships there is more of a team effort but it still relies on individual times and personal efforts. Here the teams are based on points, a first place win gives the person ten points and it digresses by two points for each lower standing. The idea is for the schools to cumulatively get the most points and that team wins the championship.

Hard work is the key to the women’s team this season. The women’s team placed ninth in the indoor championships but came back to take first in the outdoor championships.

One who truly enjoys his job is women’s track and field coach Mike Barnett. He thinks that the team has the potential to come out with a sweep at nationals.

The women’s team is coming back smaller but with many seasoned returning athletes. There is still an excitement and drive coming off a win at the outdoor championships but there is also the reality that it will take a lot of time and effort to reach the goals set for this next season.

“We are looking to do good things and looking to capitalize on returners,” senior pole-vaulter Mandy Pohja said. “The distance team is bringing a lot of strength.”

Although track and field is a team sport, it is also an individual effort where each person’s performance is key. On the women’s side there are several key players that contribute to the continued success of the team. On the distance side is junior All-American distance runner Jaime Canterbury and sophomore distance runner Jackline Kipwambok. A key player in the women’s success is senior multi-athlete Zora Golcevska. The multi-athlete competes in several events, being scored on each and the results come from the cumulative score. In the throwing event there is senior Megan Ilertsen and senior Ruthie Wilhelm who bring strength to the team.

Each of these events has a very strong foundation that should lead them to a national championship.

“We brought back pretty much everyone from last year’s national championship team and now that they are a year older, they are more mature. They are seasoned veterans. They already have strength, now they’ve got that confidence behind that strength,” Barnett said.

Through all the competition, the foundation of the team is still based on a sense of community. This is important to the life of the team because it becomes more than training. It is a balance between all the things in their life and caring about one another.”

“We have become more confident in ourselves,” senior thrower Ruthie Wilhelm said. “We have a solid base as a team, not only on the track but also off the track. We are a good group of friends all around.”

Winning is not the main goal. It is more about reaching personal potential and to go out with the correct attitude.

“Winning the championships is our goal but just to do our best is our goal. The goal for nationals is to beat your personal record and as long as you do that you can’t say that you didn’t do anything wrong,” senior thrower Megan Ilertsen said.

These sentiments also resonate through the team. They are a team that works vigorously. In the end what they want is for the APU community to embrace them because they have put in a lot of heart into what they do.

“In thinking of the APU community, I think of a community that supports the teams. I know track meets are sometimes very long but we work just a hard as the other teams on campus. We would love that we would have a home meet or an invitational that they would come out and support us. They don’t have to hang out all day but come out and say hi just to see how we are doing,” Barnett said.

The men’s team has also come back from an exciting season. In the 2007 season the team placed first in the indoor championship meet and third in the outdoor championship meet.

Veteran coach Kevin Reid leads the men’s track team. This season’s team is made up of many returnees and a significant number of new athletes, both freshmen and transfers. The wide lineup will make for an interesting season with a lot of strength behind it.

“It will be a lot about staying healthy because if the guys can stay healthy, then they will perform well,” Reid said. “I have not seen anything of what the other teams have but if things line up the way things usually do, we have a chance to be okay.”

The goal, as always, is a championship performance.

“We have a really wide range of talented athletes,” senior runner Caleb Lynch said. “Our hurdlers are really talented. We do really well in the distance events. We pretty much have every event somewhat covered.”

The team is expected to bring strong showings in the hurdle races, the middle and long distance as well as the relays.

“They are all older guys. They are guys that have been there and done it,” Reid said. “They are a group of guys that you know are going to perform when it counts the most.”

There is a lot of strength within the men’s track and field team in which they have several important players that are stand out athletes within the team. In the hurdles and the relays senior Matt Sparks and senior Cliffton Gay stand out. In the throwing events senior James Ferguson is a part of team. Also a part of the cornerstones of the men’s track and field team is senior distance runner Aron Rono.

“The tradition of APU track is so rich. It is here and we would love to see them come out and see firsthand some of the meets that we host here through March and April,” Reid said in discussing the things he wants the APU community to know.

There are high hopes for both sides of the track and field teams this season but they are not counting anything before it is won. The track and field team begins their season on Jan. 26 with a meet against Concordia.