On Jan. 18 and 19, the Winthrop University men’s and women’s track and field teams traveled to Virginia Tech to compete in the Hokie Invitational at Blacksburg, Virginia. According to Winthrop Eagles, Winthrop participated against 15 other teams, including East Carolina University, Virginia Tech and Roanoke College. Winthrop track and field coach Benjamin Paxton commented how members of the Winthrop teams pushed themselves during the opening meet of the season.
“I’m really pleased with the team and how they stepped up and were not intimidated by the completion. We had many kids run and jump their personal bests this week and we are just getting started,” said Paxton.
Senior sociology and criminology major and team member Joey Jennings was also optimistic about the Winthrop track and field team’s performance against Virginia Tech., noting how it would apply to future meets.
“I think we performed well as a team. We have only been training together on campus for two weeks, and while we had workouts for over the break, there’s a different intensity brought in a team setting. I think we did great, but we still have a long way to go,” said Jennings.
With the first two months of the season, the Winthrop University track and field teams will be competing in indoor meets, which are planned to gauge how our athletes compare to other top universities like Virginia Tech.
“It’s a good opener for the new year as Virginia Tech has a brand new facility, and the meet should be loaded with top–level competition, which will allow us to see where we are with some our kids,” said Paxton.
For the new season, members of the track and field team underwent various training to perform well during meets and invitational. Jennings reflected how training in college is vastly different than doing the same sport in high school. For the first two months in Indoor meets, both men and women’s teams will be taking a select number of athletes to each meet.
“Training for collegiate level track is completely different than high school. There’s no messing around and still doing well. It involves every aspect from eating properly to being proactive with treatment to avoid injuries,” said Jennings.
After the meet in early March, the Winthrop track and field team will participate in outdoor meets, which will allow all team members to run and eventually narrow down for championship meets and invitational in the spring.
“Doing things a little different this year, as we’ll open up at the UNCW Invitational instead of Charlotte. Everyone will have a chance to compete at this meet,” said Paxton.
Jennings’s goal this season is improve herself through balancing a healthy lifestyle on season as well as focus on bettering herself through self-care.
“One of my most important goals for this season is to stay healthy. In the past, I have gotten injured, and that’s messed with my goals. This year, I want to stay healthy, so I have put a lot of focus into self-care. I’m hoping this will reap positive results on the track,” said Jennings.
Another aspect of improvement for the Track and Field team is encouraging their teammates to work hard on and off the track for this season.
“I think my teammates did great, but it’s only up from here,” said Jennings. “We have to keep training hard, knowing what we’re capable of and shooting past that limit.”
An interesting development for the track and field team is that Winthrop will be hosting the Eagle Twilight and Big South Conference Outdoor Championship at the Winthrop Coliseum.
“We’re hosting the conference championship, which we have not done since the meet moved to May four years ago to help provide an opportunity for better weather,” said Paxton.
This would allow students to not only show off what they learned from the whole season, but to also showcase the athletic talent of Winthrop University with various competitors all over the Big South Conference.
“I think this is a huge opportunity for us. We will have a home-track advantage, and we got to use that momentum to put up our best performances in route to a conference championship,” said Jennings.
Because the Big South Conference Outdoor Championship is being hosted by Winthrop, it allows the Winthrop community to see the hard work that our Eagles have put in to compete among the top schools in the South.
“We enjoy hosting championship type events, as I think we saw in the pride we took to host the NCAA Cross Country Regional. It’s also a good opportunity for not just the parents, but for our professors and local fan base to see our athletes compete for championships,” said Paxton.
