Head track and field coach Jon Bell doesn’t care about the roof over his head.
“It’s all cyclical … it doesn’t matter what season it is. It could be fall or winter or spring; indoor or outdoor. It doesn’t really matter. The running is still the same. The athletes are still the same. My coaching is still the same,” Bell said.
While Bell may not care about the differences between the indoor and outdoor track and field seasons, the NCAA does. This means, for now, the Saint Louis University track and field team must compete indoors.
There are some minor differences between the indoor and outdoor seasons. During the winter months, runners race on a track half the size of the 400-meter outdoor track. Hurdlers face shorter distances and fewer hurdles. The field competitors are seeing their first action of the season. But that doesn’t change a thing for Bell.
“I still expect [people] to compete to the best of their abilities,” Bell said. “This is a very team-oriented program. Everyone is training all year round, it doesn’t matter what season it is.”
Many of the student-athletes notice the differences between the indoor and outdoor seasons as well.
“I probably prefer the outdoors. I have a lot more experience outdoors, so I am just more comfortable with it,” freshman Kalie Kirk said.
Kirk is not the only team member foreign to the indoors. Most high school programs do not offer a winter track season, meaning that many college freshmen have never competed indoors.
Kirk’s inexperience indoors hasn’t slowed her down one bit. Kirk, a Colorado state-champion hurdler while in high school, won the first two college meets in which she competed. And she has done so in record-breaking fashion. Kirk already has broken the SLU record for the 60-meter hurdle three separate times.
“[Breaking the record] is pretty exciting. It’s good to see results after all of the preparations, and I am excited to see how I improve as the rest of the season goes,” Kirk said.
The freshman also broke the school record for the 60-meter sprint, a mark that had previously belonged to teammate and junior Tiffany Alexander. Hurdles may not be Kirk’s only talent, but she claims it is her favorite event.
“I like the challenge of hurdles. It’s fun because there is always something you can be working on and improving,” Kirk said.
Bell is not surprised by Kirk’s performance.
“She is off to a phenomenal start … the times she is posting aren’t really surprising. I knew she was a great runner and athlete. It’s how soon she has been able to do it all that is impressive,” Bell said. “She has been lining up against women three and four years older, and hasn’t been intimidated at all … she is going to have a great career here at SLU.”
Kirk is not the only Billiken tobreak his or her own record this season. Junior Justin Kwasa, the lone thrower on the team, broke his own mark in the weight throw during the team’s first meet on Dec. 5.
His heave of 57 feet and 9 inches was good enough to pass his previous best of 54 feet and 3.75 inches. More recently, he eclipsed his record in the shot put on Jan. 16, increasing the record to 12.62 meters.
Kwasa stated that he is excited to be raising the bar for SLU throwing, and hopes that his records can stand for years.
“It’s really cool knowing that my name is in the record books,” Kwasa said.
I just hope that they will still be there 20 years from now.”
The track and field team will travel to Indiana University in Bloomington, Ind. for the Gladstein Invitational, Jan. 23.