After running its inaugural meet at varsity status in Carbondale, Ill., the Saint Louis University track and field team made its in-state debut at the Missouri Relays last Friday and Saturday in Columbia, Mo.
The meet featured 25 collegiate teams from the Midwest, including 10 other Division I programs, highlighted by regional power and host University of Missouri.
The Billikens performed respectably in the extremely competitive meet, having five of their athletes notch top-10 finishes.
Coach Mike Nelson has been pleased thus far with his squad’s development.
“So far, the season’s gone real well; a lot of the athletes are getting faster. Our number-one goal was improving from week to week, and I’d say around 80 percent of our athletes have bested their times from the first meet. I’ve been real happy with the results thus far.”
There were several performances of note for the women. Senior Brooke Elbert took third place in the 10,000-meter race, while freshman Sarah Turner finished fifth.
Junior Anissa Reynolds ran well in two events, placing ninth in the 3,000-meter steeplechase with a time of 12:17.15 and finishing the 800-meter run with a time of 2:25.67. In the 3,000-meter run, sophomore Laura Coyer placed 13th overall with a time of 10:41.70.
“I was really pleased, especially with the first half of the race,” Coyer said. “I stayed with the front-pack and ran a 5:31. I could’ve improved in the second mile, but overall I felt like I raced well.”
Junior Lucas Roethlisberger ran two gutsy races for the men’s team. He finished eighth out of 50 in the 1,500-meter run with a blazing time of 4:03.48. He was also the team’s top finisher in the 800-meter run, breaking the two-minute barrier with a time of 1:59.67. Senior Dan Herman and sophomore Paul Lemon finished eighth and 10th in the 10K, respectively.
Overall, the second meet of the year went as planned, according to Nelson, who is getting used to his new duties coaching the track and field team.
“It’s been a challenge. Coaching itself has not been a problem. It’s just that in cross-country everyone runs the same time and the results come out at the same time, and once the race is over you’re ready to pack up and leave. In track you have the 100-meter, the 400-meter, the 10,000-meter, etc. It’s been a challenge for one guy to keep up with, but I really enjoy doing it,” Nelson said.
Although the team now toes the line with some of the nation’s elite runners, many relish the challenge.
“It’s an exciting atmosphere every meet. It inspires you to do better when you’re racing against great runners,” Coyer said.
Although much has been made of the added pressure and responsibility of being a Division I sport, it’s easy to forget the new level of exhilaration that comes along with each meet.
“In cross-country we all ran our race at the same time and we didn’t have the opportunity to cheer on our teammates. In track we’ve had a blast watching each other’s races,” Coyer said.
“We’re taking a full team now; we have people competing in each of the running events. Meets are constantly in a state of excitement; once a person is done with their race and cooled down they can cheer for their teammates. It’s been a lot of fun,” Nelson said.
Nelson plans to change up the practice regimen this week in anticipation of the next couple of meets, to change the team’s specialty.
“We’re looking to move away from the distance and focus more on speed work. I didn’t want to jump right into the speed work right away because the body tends to break down. Now that we have our base built up, we can work on more speed instead of the longer training runs,” Nelson said.
Both squads will be in action this weekend at the Big Blue Classic in Charleston, Ill., this Friday and Saturday.
