Men’s track and field begins season with ISU Open
Photo: Grace Steenhagen/Iowa State Daily
Rico Loy comes around the bend in first in the men’s mile with teammates Mohamed Hrezi and Abdou Seye right behind during the NCAA Qualifier track meet at Lied Recreation Athletic Center on Saturday, March 3. Loy placed first with a time of 4:03.35.
January 18, 2013
Iowa State will host more than 40 teams, including 16 from Iowa, at the annual ISU Open on Friday and Saturday.
This meet will showcase the multi-talented ISU men’s track and field team, but it is only a small stepping stone toward the Big 12 Conference meet.
“It’s a progression for us,” said assistant coach Pete Herber. “We are not looking to do a whole lot this weekend. We’re training and trying to improve for meets down the road.”
Not much pressure will be put on the athletes this weekend, but they will show up to do their best in hopes of impressing the coaches down the road.
The home opener for this season is something that is looked forward to as a challenging meet that will set the tone for the rest of the season.
“It’s going to be a great opener,” said assistant coach Travis Hartke. “I think we can get some qualifying marks this weekend. It’s a step. For the next four weeks, we compete every weekend. This is a step to the next one.
“It’s a test of what they’ve done this winter. We have 5 1/2 weeks until conference. We have to be on it at all times.”
With the Big 12 Conference meet fast approaching, it is important to start off feeling good about the future. Coach Corey Ihmels said it is a test to see where they are after winter break.
“Now, it’s an opportunity for us to gauge where we are at as a group,” Ihmels said. “Hopefully, we will walk away from it healthy and feeling well about what transpired over break.”
With a newly remodeled track and signs adorning the Lied Recreation Athletic Center, this meet will begin a new season for the ISU men’s track and field team.
Hartke gave his take on this weekend’s meet and his input on what fans should be watching for.
“We have a lot of good kids in the mile and the thousand, which most of those kids are 3K, 5K kids,” Harke said. “I think the DMR will be fun because it’s something we do as a team. Everybody runs the DMR on Friday.”
The men kick off their season with the 5,000-meter run at 3:30 p.m. Friday and continue at 10:20 a.m. Saturday with the 3,000.
