With only two weeks left before the Big Ten Outdoor Championship, it's crunch time for the men's and women's track teams. The Badgers will host the Wisconsin Twilight Friday and Saturday at the McClimon Track as well as the Big Ten Outdoor Championships May 17-19.
After competing in warmer places for the duration of the outdoor season, the Twilight will be the first home meet of the outdoor season for the men as well as the women.
\I think they're really looking forward to it,"" men's Head Coach Ed Nuttycombe said. ""They've worked hard with the Big Ten outdoor meet at home in mind, and this weekend will set the tempo for what's going to happen.""
The Twilight will also give the team a chance to position themselves for the championships two weeks later.
""We're working to the Big Ten meet. The Invitational will be a meet to get some more times into the Big Ten meet and seed us well and see where we will be when it's time to race in the championships,"" freshman sprinter Jvontai Hanserd said.
Freshman jumper Alonzo Moore, might sit out the Twilight so that he can rest his injured Achilles' heel, but said he is not worried that it will hold him back at the Big Ten Championships.
""I'm never 100 percent when I jump. I usually jump my best when I'm hurt,"" said Moore, who will compete with fellow UW senior jumper Len Herring for the triple jump title at the championship.
UW hopes to use the home field as a jump start in an attempt to repeat as Big Ten champions.
""We've always given the home team 10 or 15 points because they were at home and I'm hoping to get those 10 or 15 points back, because that could be the difference between winning or losing,"" Nuttycombe said.
For the women, however, injuries and youth have hindered their chances of taking a Big Ten title.
""I always try to win. I just know that this year, both indoors and outdoors, we have lost a number of really good athletes, so we really are not in a good position to go for the championship,"" Head Coach Peter Tegen said.
The team hopes to use the two meets to qualify more athletes for the NCAAs. Senior middle distance runner Bethany Brewster already ran a provisional mark in the 1500-meter run, but several other athletes have a chance to make the cut, including junior pole vaulter Tara Clack, sophomore thrower Bree Fuqua and two middle distance runners, sophomore Hilary Edmondson and junior Elaine Canchola.
""Our workouts have really been geared for that pace. Hopefully I can try to qualify this weekend so I don't have to worry about it for Big Ten,"" said Edmondson, who needs to shave three seconds off of her 1500-meter personal best time in order to qualify.
Clark thinks she needs to jump 13'5"" to make the cut, and she is confident that she will be able to do that.
""Last meet I almost cleared 13', so I'm hoping if I can really improve on my technique and really work hard these next few weeks, I'll have a chance to go,"" she said. ""I'm definitely going to go all out, big poles, big run, try to do it [at the Big Ten] Championship.\
