Track and field season is back for the Boxers and it presents essentially a whole new track team for Pacific University. With only five total seniors, including both throwers and runners, the track team is a fresh and seeing a lot of success in the indoor meets they have already competed in.
So far, the Boxers have competed in two indoor meets at Washington State University in Pullman, Wash. where they were competing against Division III, Division II, and Division 1 athletes. The remainder of the season is looking bright, because not only are the Boxers holding their own with the bigger schools, they are producing solid scores and showing improvements from last year.
Three school records have already been broken during in the indoor season so far. Senior thrower Josh Huffman surpassed the school record, of which he previously held, throwing 14.92m at Cougar Indoor Invite the weekend of Feb. 1-2.
Other school records were bested by junior Jenna Hoiland, who eclipsed the school record for long jump and triple jump. The record for long jump was set with a 5.15m jump and for the triple jump she achieved 11.12m. Both Hoiland and Huffman placed second overall in their events. The Boxers have one more indoor track meet at the University of Washington in Seattle on Feb. 23.
Outdoor season will begin on March 1 and the Boxers have the potential to see a very successful season, especially in Northwest Conference meets. Freshman sprinter Cole Strober spoke about how he believes the team is looking great for conference and that he think their current success is due to the experience of veteran teammates. He hopes the team’s early success will translate over to the outdoor season.
One area the track team is experiencing a lot of success is with distance running. A majority of Pacific’s Cross Country team, who also had a very accomplished season, is also running for track and helping out the team.
Senior runner Serena Wallace is already achieving new personal records, and the success is rubbing off on the other runners.
Throwers are also experiencing a lot of success, as shot put throwers have competed well at the Washington State meets, though throwers for events such as javelin and discus will have to wait until outdoor season to compete.
Overall, the Boxers track and field team has established a great start to their season and looks to carry this momentum forward.
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