The Wisconsin's men's track team is in Des Moines, Iowa, competing in the 100th Drake Relays from Thursday until Saturday.
The Badgers are looking for some strong performances at one of the biggest meets of the regular season, and are coming off a weekend where they posted some of their strongest performances of the season. Several athletes posted marks that qualified them for the NCAA Regionals in late May.
Jack Bolas, a junior and three-time All-American, was named Big Ten Men's Track Athlete of the Week after running the 1,500 meters in 3:42.56, qualifying him for regionals. Bolas finished in third place at the NCAA outdoor championships in the same event.
Sophomore pole vaulter Mickey DeFilippo continued clearing the bar at higher heights. He successfully cleared at 16 feet, 10 3?4 inches last Friday, only to compete again the following day and clear the bar at 17 feet, 3?4 inch, both personal bests for the sophomore.
Hurdler Nate Larkin also continued his impressive sophomore season, running the 110-meter hurdles in 14.11 seconds in California. Men's track coach Ed Nuttycombe spoke about Larkin's progress Monday.
""This year he's really made a breakthrough,"" Nuttycombe said. ""I mean, he qualified for the NCAA indoor championships. There were only 14 hurdlers in the entire country that qualified. That puts you in a pretty elite group of hurdlers in the country.""
Larkin, along with the rest of the team, will have another chance to post impressive numbers as he competes at the Drake Relays, where the team will face some of the best competition from around the country.
""You get to compete against top talent in a setting that really, you know, motivates you,"" Larkin said. ""We don't have to fly anywhere so your legs should be real fresh. It's a good chance to run fast, and after this meet we have two home meets and then Big Tens, so it's the last chance you have to run against real top-caliber talent as far as national standings go.""
Not only will the competition be top-notch, but the atmosphere at the Drake Relays is more like a fall football game than a spring track meet.
""Drake Relays is always a great event,"" Nuttycombe said. ""I think they've sold it out for 25-plus years. It's a great little stadium and a great venue and great competition.""
Larkin also looks forward to competing in the energetic atmosphere.
""For track, you don't get to run in that many extremely big meets, and the Drake Relays is set up like a festival,"" Larkin said. ""The crowd's really into it, they're pros that are there, it's kind of the Super Bowl of the sport as far as a meet goes.""
""Besides nationals, this is one of the biggest meets of the year,"" he said. ""It's just a fun atmosphere to go out there and run fast in front of a big crowd.""
Though the fans and the environment look to make the meet more enjoyable than most, the team has the same goal as it does for every other meet: performing to the best of its abilities.
For Larkin and DeFilippo, it is an opportunity to run faster and jump higher. For the team as a whole, it is an opportunity to improve and post results against top competition that will qualify them for regionals. Larkin is looking to run the 110-meter hurdles under 14 seconds this weekend against some of the best competition from around the country.
""This weekend and, of course, the next two weekends at home are big for us as far as it relates to the preparation for the championship part of the season,"" Nuttycombe said. ""And so it's time to get up and get going now.""
--------—uwbadgers.com contributed to this report.
