Just two weeks after the conclusion of the Division II NCAA Indoor Track and Field Championships, the Eagles Track and Field team is ready to take on the outdoor season.
“We already had an amazing indoor season,” says redshirt sophomore thrower Leslie Pollock. “Now we are going to capitalize on that in outdoors.”
Pollock finished the Indoor season as an honoree of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) Second Team for the weight throw.
At nationals, Pollock placed ninth in the women’s weight throw. Despite being just short of an All-American title, Pollock plans to use it as momentum moving forward. “Obviously, I would’ve loved to have capped off my season with an All-American, but it just didn’t happen,” says Pollock. “I am really looking forward to hammer outdoors because I made it to nationals in that last year, and I am working on improving my marks.”
For the women’s team, there were six G-MAC First-team honorees and seven second-team honorees.
For the men’s team, there were also six G-MAC first-team honorees and seven second-team honorees.
One of those six first-team honorees for the men is fifth-year transfer student Colin Hunkele who is obtaining his master’s degree here at Ashland University. Hunkele was a member of the men’s 4×400 relay squad that placed fourth at nationals. The All-American honor was his first with Ashland University.
“Overall, I think it was a great indoor season…” says Hunkele. “We also were able to send a few men to the national meet that were able to come back with some hardware as well.”
When reflecting on the past year of his career, Hunkele looked to last season as comparison. “Last year was the first time I had qualified for indoor nationals, but I unfortunately came up short. This year though, I was blessed with a great group of guys, and I was able to qualify again for the national meet where we came back with a 4th place finish in our relay.”
Hunkele also gave a nod to the difference in training indoors in the winter. “I am a 5th year transfer, so this indoor has been wildly different than what I am used to. At my old university we did not have an indoor facility to train in during the winter, so having the Niss has been a blessing.”
For some runners, the difference between how the races are run from indoor to outdoor makes the difference between loving one versus the other. For others, it simply has to do with the weather.
For Hunkele, it’s both. “I love running outside. In my race, the 400m, when running indoors you must cut in and fight the other runners for lane position, but outside you stay in your lane the whole race, which is great.”
Pollock, however, wants to use the momentum created from the indoor season as the team transitions to outdoors. “I am really looking forward to hammer outdoor because I made it to nationals last year, and I am working on improving my marks. I think our team does really well in indoors, but especially outdoors so I am excited to see what is in store for us.”
The track and field team will compete in their outdoor season opener on March 28-29 in Cedarville, OH for the Yellow Jacket Collegiate Open.
