The women's track team is set to compete in sunny Atlanta, at the Yellow Jacket Invitational on Friday and Saturday at the George C. Griffin track, which should be different from the harsh conditions the Huskies were facing last week.
After snow and icy conditions cancelled the Army Invitational, the team's runners caught up on quality training over the weekend while the field athletes were invited to compete at the Connecticut College Invitational in New London.
Despite the suddenness of the meet, the women who competed at Connecticut College showed no signs of last-minute stress; as they went on to grab seven first-place finishes.
"We decided to work through that weekend with our runners," said head Coach Bill Morgan. "With the throwers, they needed to get in some work; they just need to throw each week in a competitive situation and even though [Conn. College] was laid back, it was a great meet as far as preparation goes. We were able to work on the technical aspects and I believe that this set up those individuals very well for the rest of the season."
Even though the Huskies did compete as a team, there was no accumulated team score for the women, as the invite was a NCAA Division III scoring meet only.
At Conn. College, co-captain Jen Rogers took home two individual titles in the long jump and triple jump with distances of 18-10 1/2 and 39-1 1/2, respectively.
Tynisha McMillian continued her successful inaugural season as a multiple event winner taking both the shot put and the discus. She won the shot put with a distance of 43-5 while winning the discus with a throw of 149-10 1/2.
Other first place finishes for the Huskies included Carin Knight in the high jump, Erin Donnelly in the hammer throw and Amanda Martin in the javelin. Marin also placed second behind McMillian in the shot put.
With the bad weather behind them, the women have been focusing their efforts on this weekend's meet at Georgia Tech, in which they will face competition the unlike any they have seen so far this season.
In order for any team to participate at the Yellow Jacket Invitational, one must have an exclusive invitation from the school itself.
"We were invited and [Georgia Tech] is an invite meet only," Morgan said. "For them to acknowledge and recognize that we have a very talented side up here is a nice feeling. It's significant not only for the athletes we have attracted here, but for potential athletes as well. The focus of our program is to compete against the best teams in the country and this is certainly a benchmark meet in my eyes. I believe it is one of the best meets in the country."
As the old saying goes, "to be the best, you need to beat the best," and for the Huskies, they will certainly be competing with the top teams in the country. The women can expect to see great teams such as defending national champion Auburn and nationally ranking Wisconsin, Georgia and host Georgia Tech.
"The meet is the result of the staff's initiative in presenting the highest level of competition to members of the women's track and field team," said head coach Bill Morgan. "With defending national champion Auburn and inter-regional upper echelon teams such as Kentucky Wake Forest, Vanderbilt, and Middle Tennessee State, we position ourselves for high-level performances during the championship season. Having returned from the Miami Invitational to open up the outdoor season and with a trip to Tennessee for the Sea Ray Invitational in several weeks, the athletes are excited about the enhanced schedule - I'm certain our efforts will be equally significant."
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