2010 Track and Field Preview
1/18/2010 12:55:40 PM | Men's Cross Country, Women's Cross Country, Men's Track, Women's Track
In VanAlstyne's decade long coaching career at UNF he has taken the men's and women's cross country and track and field teams into a new era. With
From NAIA to DII to DI, VanAlstyne has continued to progress and help grow
This year's cross country team made tremendous steps toward the future with both the men and the women: finishing third in the Atlantic Sun Conference Championships, being regionally ranked by the U.S. Track & Field and Cross Country Coaches Association and running in the men's and women's NCAA South Regional Qualifier, all for the first-time in program history.
“That was one of our goals at the beginning of the year, it is to the team's credit that they came through and prepared well enough to compete and finish as well as they did,” said VanAlstyne. “For the women they finished right where we had them at regions. They ran well and it gives us a lot to look forward to, to next year breaking into the top 10 regional rankings. We think we have the core of the team set in place that can do that for the next three or four years. On the men's side I felt that the men got a taste of how competitive it is. The ranking was nice but I felt that they were a little overwhelmed at the level of competition and their place was not indicative of where they could have been. Sometimes you have to get to that level of competition a few times before you are comfortable about being there and competing at the best of your abilities. Overall I think it was a great season and really wets our appetite for next year.”
On the women's side UNF will have 20 returning competitors. Of those 20 returnees, six are from the 2009 cross country team.
“There are a lot of them,” mentioned VanAlstyne. “Kayla [Conrad] a runner-up in the 800-meter, she really has set high goals for this season. Laura Ragland we think is getting healthy now after a tough cross country season. She was runner up last year in the 1500m and the championship is the only thing on her mind. Erin [Heasley], coming off of a break-through cross country season is a runner we look forward to big things out of in the middle distances and some distance races. Brooke [Baumann] had a very good beginning to her freshman year in track. She is determined to see it all the way through till the end this year.”
In 2010, there will be five freshmen making the transition from cross country to track. In 2009, the cross country season revolved around the freshmen. Freshman Shelby Kittrell finished first among Ospreys in every race she competed in, including a fourth-place finish in the A-Sun Cross Country Championship that enabled her to earn the A-Sun Freshman of the Year award. Kittrell, along with Meggie Emons and Melanie Novak won A-Sun All-Freshman Team honors.
“A freshman like
Among the returning track and field athletes is senior Charisma Anderson who broke two school records in the 100m (11.88) and in the 200m (24.76) last year, with both times recorded at the Seminole Twilight. Senior pole-vaulter Anne Delbovo was the only woman to receive an A-Sun First Team honor. She has battled some injuries during the off-season but has put them behind her with the goal of defending her title in the pole vault. Another top returnee that UNF will look for great things from will be junior SaLydia James who will be a major asset in the long sprint events. Salydia was a part of the 4x100m relay team that took second at the conference championships.
The Ospreys had four individual athletes finish second in last season's conference outdoor championships. Of those four, three will be back this season.
“Ashton McGuire was runner-up in the javelin, Laura Ragland was runner-up in the 1500m and Elyse Texler was runner-up in the high jump,” commented VanAlstyne. “When you're second there is only one place to shoot for so I know all of them are really looking for their opportunity at a championship.”
“Among the newcomers, we are excited to see Jaybria Calcote in the 400m. We think she is going to be a key addition to our team,” said VanAlstyne about the freshmen track runners. “Jennifer Smyth has impressive high school credentials in the jumps and we really have a need there. I really think she can come right in and be a force in the conference.”
Calcote is a 2009 graduate of
Smyth, a 2009 graduate from Bradford High School set her school's record in the long and triple jump and qualified for states in her sophomore, junior and senior years with her best finish coming in junior year where she finished second in the triple jump.
“On the men's side any conversation about returnees has to start with Will Pearce,” said VanAlstyne about the returning male track and field athletes. “He is a defending conference champion [1500m] and really has his sights set on moving on this year. He should be a force in any race he is in against the competition. Among the returnees, Mike Strasser and Josh Brown had good cross country seasons and I think they are ready to be competitive at the A-Sun level on the track.”
Freshman James Post had his best finish in the 2009 cross country season at the A-Sun Championships coming in 20th out of 85 runners. He was the only freshman on the Ospreys to run in the NCAA Regional Qualifier.
“Among the newcomers, the highlight would be James,” said VanAlstyne. “He had a great freshman year of cross country and has tremendous credentials from high school. He could step in right away and be competitive for a top three spot at the conference championship.“
Two home regular season meets and the second year of hosting the Atlantic Sun Conference Outdoor Championships highlight the
“We are pleased with the schedule,” said VanAlstyne. “We think it's a good schedule to prepare us for our ultimate goal, which is doing well at the conference championship and using that as a springboard to get some people into regionals for the first time. Just like in cross country, this is our opportunity to make regionals and we want to make sure that we are well represented there.”
Starting off the 2010 track and field season, the Ospreys will only have two indoor meets to prepare themselves for the Atlantic Sun Indoor Championships in
In last year's A-Sun Indoor Championships the women picked up three all conference awards. DelBovo finished first in the pole vault with her height of 3.05m, sophomore Kayla Conrad finished second in the 800m and junior Bruce Cassie finished third in the pole vault (2.90m). Trexler just missed garnering a third team all-conference award by coming in fourth with her height of 1.68m in the high jump. Pearce for the men captured third-pace in the mile (4:14.39).
The 2010 outdoor schedule will feature three home meets with one being the A-Sun Outdoor Championships held on May 14-15 at Hodges Stadium. The Ospreys' first home track meet will be the UNF Spring Break Invitational on March 5-6 at Hodges Stadium.
The squad will then be on the road for the next four meets with a split squad set-up for the Pepsi Florida Relays in
North Florida will then travel to
On April 22-24 the Ospreys will look to participate in the prestigious Penn Relays at historic Franklin Field. Last year the Ospreys were able to send one runner to the Penn Relays but hope this year they can send more.
“Of course everyone always sets the Penn Relays up as a goal and it's a honor in itself just to be able to go and run there,” said VanAlstyne.
UNF will then cap the regular season off at the Seminole Twilight Invitational on May 8 in
On May 14-15 UNF will host its second A-Sun Championships at their home track at Hodges Stadium. Last year UNF's women finished third out of eight in the A-Sun Championships. Last year, the women had eight all-conference selections in their individual events, including a first place finish in the 4x100m. The men had four all-conference selections for their individual events.
“After the A-Sun Championship there will be some athletes like Elyse, Ashton and Anderson that this will be their first opportunity to qualify for regionals and have a legitimate shot,” commented VanAlstyne about first-round NCAA Qualifiers. “They're going to have to run well and continue to improve, but at least we have that out there now and have the opportunity to move on and not end the season on May 14-15.”
