Senior Brittney Cloudy looks to become one of the most decorated Billikens in Saint Louis University history as the Billiken track team heads into what Head Coach Jon Bell calls “one of the best trips of the year,” the Atlantic 10 championship in Rhode Island.
“I think if we perform to our abilities with some added adrenaline for good measure, we will do very well,” thrower Hannah Kuenzel said.
Cloudy and the rest of the team look to prove themselves against familiar foes such as Xavier and Dayton in this year’s Indoor Conference tournament. Cloudy looks to add to her combined total of four conference championships in the long and triple jump this weekend as she is competing in both events. Taking home the A-10 won’t be easy at Rhode Island, as Bell described the Rams field house as “small, loud and with the crowd and pressure in your face.”
Cloudy won’t be the only Billiken vying for gold. SLU will have a total of 14 athletes competing this weekend and Bell likes his chances of coming home with several pieces of hardware.Another athlete to watch on Friday is Margo Richardson, fresh off breaking the school’s mile time record.
This year’s squad is full of freshman, and while Bell is excited to see how well they can perform, he also acknowledges that anything can happen on the big stage.
He’ll look for senior leadership, particularly on the men’s side from Dahmar Smiles and Brian Holdmire. Both athletes are coming off injuries but should still perform well. Bell said that he’s excited to see his seniors “go out with a bang.”
The women’s team has fared well all season and will look to place highly in several events, including the 4 x 800 meter relay team and the shot put, where Hannah Kuenzel recently set a school record at Notre Dame throwing a 43-54.
This will be the Billikens’ sixth indoor conference tournament and both teams are poised to beat their finishes of sixth and seventh place, women and men respectively. The action begins Friday, Feb. 17 at Mackal Fieldhouse in Rhode Island.
