2009 Season Preview
TAYLOR UNIVERSITY TRACK & FIELD
2009 PREVIEW
With the 2008 season ending on a tremendous high note, it is only natural for head coach Ted Bowers and the Trojans to be looking forward to the 2009 season. The Trojans brought home six NAIA All-American awards from the 2008 NAIA National Championships, with only one of them being earned by a senior.
This core of five returning All-Americans and a rejuvenated distance corps provides plenty of high hopes for TU. Look for the Trojans to be a more balanced team than in 2008, and to compete with more depth, especially in the distance races.
The distance corps will be led by NAIA XC qualifiers Michael Pabody (junior) and Tom Robertson (junior). Robertson also qualified for the NAIA steeplechase last spring and anticipates taking some distance teammates with him on a return trip to St. Louis. Pabody has the tools to qualify in the 5K or 10K, while senior Christian Leman along with sophs Isaac Bryan and Nathan Kirsch should be at the front of the middle distance events. Also returning is senior Braxton Fritz who qualified for Nationals in the marathon his freshman year.
The sprint crew returns an experienced and accomplished group of runners. Seniors Andy Marston, Ian Brown and JP Robles have a good handle on the leadership of this group, and are driving them towards a conference championship.
In 2008, Marston qualified for the 600 meters indoors, but a late season injury kept him from competing at the outdoor championships. Brown set school records in the 100 and 200 meters last spring, along with running the opening leg of TU's 6th place 4x400 relay team at Nationals. He also anchored the record setting 4x100 relay team to it's first-ever NAIA appearance. Robles made huge strides in both the javelin and 400 hurdles to score at conference.
Joining this group will be Bryan Allingham (soph), Kyle Cassidy (soph), and Dave Voss (junior), Brown's teammates on the 3:13.64 4x400 relay. Allingham produced Top Ten times in both the 200 and 400, while Voss won a MCC title in the 400 hurdles in 2008 as well as qualifying for his second NAIA Championship in the long hurdle race. Cassidy was thrown into the heat of things when Marston came up lame and performed admirably and with great poise at the NAIAs.
Even more depth is available in the sprints with Brad Wetherell (junior), Heath Clark (freshman), Eric Nystrom (freshman), and Dan DuPree (freshman). Joining Voss in the high hurdles is Cory Anderson (soph) who was second in the 110s at conference as a freshman. Scott Gill (soph), though mainly working in the jumps, held a spot on the 4x100 team, and may find more work in the short sprints this season.
With All-American high jumper Gill leading the way, the jumps crew will be one of the best and deepest areas for the Trojans. Gill, who also qualified for the long jump, is joined by Anderson, who will compete in the high jump and triple jump; Mark Beckford (junior), MCC triple jump champion his freshman year; and Randy Magnuson (freshman) who brings big hops in all three jumps to the Trojan roster. The Trojans scored 39 points in the three jumps at the MCC last year, and have room to improve upon that number in 2009.
The throws group will be a small but effective area for TU. Robles' 3rd place at conference in the javelin spotlighted his abilities there. Chaa Stuart (soph) scored in the shot put last season, and is ready to make his presence felt at the collegiate level.
Coach Bowers is looking forward to the season with great anticipation, "We are deeper than we were last season, and if our returners make the gains they are capable of, we will be in contention for the MCC title. Beyond that, I want to see us continue to grow as a team. It is always a challenge to bring the different groups together because some days they don't even see each other at practice. However, our staff will work towards challenging this team to grow in their relationships with the Lord as well as with each other."