Friday, December 4, 2015

First-year UIS women's track team opens indoor season Saturday

University of Illinois Springfield women’s track coach Mike De Witt has high expectations for the upcoming indoor season.

“I think we’ll have more success on the track than we did in cross country,” said De Witt, who also coaches cross country.

The Prairie Stars’ first women’s track team will participate in six indoor meets beginning with Saturday’s Titan First Chance Meet at Illinois Wesleyan University in Bloomington.

UIS doesn’t have a full track and field team; instead the Stars are focusing on middle-distance events such as the 800-meter run and mile. They’ll also compete in the 400, 4x400 relay and 4,000-meter distance medley relay.

UIS kicked off its running program during its inaugural cross country season in the fall. The team had more short-sprint runners than long-distance ones. “They’re going to be training for the 400 and 800 rather than the 200 and 400,” De Witt said.

The Great Lakes Valley Conference Indoor Track and Field Championships are Feb. 27-28 in Kenosha, Wis.

This story appeared online in The State Journal-Register on December 3, 2015.

Read the entire story here.