Track and field isn’t like basketball, football or the other popular
American sports.
There is no win-loss record. Only one thing matters and that is a time, mark or jump.
That puts an entirely different spin on each track meet that the BG track and field team participates in.
“If you win and you didn’t get the time, you kind of don’t care. You do, but you don’t because if you don’t get the time you don’t go to [the Mid-American Conference Championships],” said junior Alicia Arnold. “That’s the whole reason for the season.”
While last week’s win at the BG Opener was good for the program, what matters the most is their consistent improvement.
“It’s a momentum piece, you feel good about what’s going on, so that helps,” said head coach Lou Snelling. “Things get real in February for the indoor season, so it’s fantastic we got that win. It will give us momentum, but where we go from here
is important.”
From here the Falcons will head to Ann Arbor, Michigan for the Simmons-Harvey Invitational Saturday. While the meet will not give out team scores, it will give the Falcons a chance to compete against other teams in the MAC that will be in attendance.
This is a direct benefit for the Falcons, because instead of looking at other meets and seeing MAC teams, they can compete right next to them.
“I know it’s like ‘oh shoot, MAC teams you have to turn up, but you have to turn up every meet,” Arnold said. “Regardless of what they run, I’m in my own lane and I have to run my own thing, so I really try not to think about the other people too much.”
While the focus this weekend will be on improving in Michigan, the larger focus is on the end of the season.
“We put all of our eggs in the end of the season basket. It’s all about the MAC, and what’s beyond that,” Snelling said.
Despite the focus on the end of the season, Snelling has stressed to the team to focus on the details.
“Right now it’s a lot of process stuff, in terms of all details,” he said. “If we hit the process stuff then things are going to continue to get better.”
While the Falcons don’t have a win-loss record, they have a chance this weekend to improve and move up those all-important MAC lists.
“If we do our jobs we should be able to continue to improve,” Snelling said.
