While everything around campus begins to wind down for the semester, men’s and women’s track and field is preparing for the most important part of the season.
Going into the outdoor season, the lady Trojans had some momentum. Taylor secured a third-place finish in the indoor Crossroads League Championship. They followed this up with a fourteenth-place finish at the NAIA Indoor National Championships.
On the men’s side, the Trojans finished sixth in the Crossroads League Indoor Championships. Nationally, they finished 44th overall.
Going into the outdoor season, first year Coach Derek Gay hoped to keep momentum from years past.
“We definitely want to finish well at the Crossroads League Championship, top half of the league is always what we’re striving for,” Gay said. “NAIA Nationals is the pinnacle of our year so ensuring we have our athletes ready to perform their best for that meet is our number one goal.”
The Trojans will be in action on May 6 and 7 for the Crossroads League Championships. NAIA Outdoor Nationals will take place after that on May 26, 27, and 28.
“We have a very young team who has really started to do some damage on our programs Top-10 performance list so that’s been something that been fun to watch this season,” Gay said about his first year in charge. “Looking forward to the next few seasons there’s a lot to be optimistic about as these athletes mature even more.”
As the senior class competes in their final events, Coach Gay reflected on the impression they’ve made on him.
“This is my first season here so unfortunately I didn’t get to know the senior class as well as what would be normal. The kids we have graduating are some of the toughest, grittiest, most lighthearted, fun-loving athletes I’ve worked with and we’ll definitely miss their leadership and presence that they bring to practice.”
