The men’s track and field team has shown individual success during the 2012-13 indoor track and field season, but it has been overshadowed by the success of the women.

Despite several men setting personal records during the Big 12 Championships, the men placed eighth out of nine teams while the women placed second out of 10 teams.

Inconsistency has been a key factor for the men throughout the season. Sophomore Edward Kemboi was the favorite to win the 800-meter run heading into the Big 12 Championships but rolled his ankle in the final en route to an eighth place finish.

“We were not that far out of fifth place, and if Kemboi was feeling 100 percent, we could have been up there, but that obviously did not happen,” said ISU coach Corey Ihmels. “It’s good in a sense we weren’t that far away from where we wanted to be but bad because we weren’t where we wanted to be.”

Senior Rico Loy was hoping to repeat as Big 12 champion in the mile run but was unable to and instead placed eighth.

The youth and inexperience of the team may be a reason why there have been inconsistent performances. The majority of the track and field team is made up of underclassmen.

However, Ihmels is excited about the future of the team. 

“We have to do a good job recruiting and bring in kids that will score in the conference meet, and the people that are here have to continue to work hard,” Ihmels said. “We have guys like Nick Efkamp that have stepped forward and are starting to get some great leadership, and that is what separates a good team from a great team.”

The confidence in Ihmels has rubbed off on the team and has them ready to go for the outdoor season.

“Right now, we are feeling pretty strong. The next couple of years, the potential is going to really show up,” said freshman Brandon Moorman. “Coming in here, I thought I knew it all, but it’s clear I didn’t and am still learning.”

The outdoor season will provide the men’s team another opportunity to improve moving forward. 

“We definitely have a bigger chance to improve because we are a young team,” said freshman Jacob Hoogensen. “It is up to us to see how far we can go and how good we can get.”