By Alyssa Palfey, GoPSUsports.com
Student Staff Writer
UNIVERSITY
PARK, Pa. - It's officially indoor track season for the Nittany Lions as they
head into their first meet of the season this weekend. Although it's only the
beginning, the women's track and field team is looking to accomplish big things
this season.
The
women's team is reigning Indoor Big Ten Champions, as they won the conference
last season at the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio. The women are looking for
nothing less than a repeat of that this year.
"This
season I think the ultimate goal for our team is to go defend our Indoor Big
Ten Championship. I think that we have a really good chance to do that this
year with the people that are returning from last year and also our incoming
freshman class," senior pole vaulter Hannah Mulhern said.
Although
winning the indoor championship meet last year was great, the women say that
winning the Indoor Big Ten again would be even sweeter if they did so alongside
the men's team.
"It would
be even more special if we did it on the same day as the boys because it was
really cool that they won outdoors (Big Tens) and we won indoors (Big Tens).
It'd be better if we all did it on the same day, I think that would be a major
team goal," senior high jumper Megan McCloskey said.
Winning
the Indoor Big Ten Championship is the ultimate goal for the women's team this
year, but so is maintaining a great team atmosphere as the seniors prepare for
their last indoor season.
"As a
team, we're going to try to obviously go after the Big Ten Championship, we'd
love to do that indoors and outdoors and at the same time as the boys would be
awesome. I think just creating a really good team atmosphere this season. We
have a lot of great talent and it would just be great to bring us all together
and have really great team unity," senior sprinter Rachael DeCecco.
This
indoor season, the women are traveling more than they are used to, and earlier
on than usual. They travel to Clemson next weekend for their second meet of the
season as the compete at the Clemson Invitational. The women say traveling this
early will only benefit them more going into championship season in late
February.
"I
definitely think it's going to benefit us. I think it's exciting to get on the
road early in the season. The benefits of that is really understanding what it
feels like to travel and to not be at our home facility. We are pretty lucky to
have a lot of meets at our home track, so it's good to get used to being at
other tracks," McCloskey said. "The most important part is to get out of our
comfort zones, so when Big Tens rolls around we will already know what it's
like to be at away meets."
"I think
that traveling a little bit more is really going to help us out. It really
helps for us to get experience on the road early," Mulhern added. "I know in
the past we haven't traveled as much, and our coaches think that may have
affected us at the Big Ten Championship, so they're trying to get us out and
traveling a little to get exposed to different facilities and competing against
different people."
The
Nittany Lions will also travel to the Spire Institute, where Big Tens are held,
earlier in the season to get a feel of the environment there.
"Going to
Spire for a meet will be great because that's where Big Tens is held, so we get
a feel for the track meet atmosphere and to prepare a couple weeks before Big
Tens," DeCecco said.
Even
though clinching the Big Ten title is the main intention of the women this
season, for the seniors, so is making it memorable.
"With it
being my last season, you never know what the season is going to hold for you.
I definitely just want to make this last season one to remember with my
teammates," Mulhern said.
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