In addition to the Golden Eagles and the Fighting Irish, both DePaul and the University of Detroit-Mercy will be competing in the meet.,”The Marquette men's and women's track and field squads open their indoor season Friday as they travel to South Bend, Ind. for the four-team Blue and Gold Invitational hosted by Notre Dame.
In addition to the Golden Eagles and the Fighting Irish, both DePaul and the University of Detroit-Mercy will be competing in the meet.
Due to the time and size of the meet, Marquette will not be bringing a full squad to South Bend. Coach Bert Rogers is keeping all of the distance runners and throwers in Milwaukee for the weekend.
Rogers said this meet will be used more to determine the physical shape of the team rather than focusing on coming out victorious.
"This meet for us is, we're basically just training through it," Rogers said. "For those who haven't been competing in fall, it's a nice opportunity to get out and see where we're at.
"We've been training all fall, so it'll be nice to get some competition in before finals and before Christmas."
According to senior captain and pole vaulter Nick Van Deraa, the meet will provide the sprinters and jumpers with an early opportunity to hone the intricacies of their respective events.
"For the jumpers and pole vaulters, we're really focused on technique," Van Deraa said. "It's a little bit early for concentrating on speed. If somebody can step up and put (the pole on their mark) in the first meet, it would be a great indication of success to come."
The sprinters, unlike the distance runners who ran cross country in the fall, have not competed in a race for Marquette since last season. Both long-distance sprinter Katlin Millin and sophomore short-sprinter Tyler O'Brien shared the desire to get back on the track with actual opposition.
"We're definitely very ready," Millin said. "For those of us who aren't in cross country, it's been a very long summer and long fall. We're trying really hard not to set our standards too high. Most importantly right now is just going out there and competing, rather than setting a specific time or mark you'd like to hit."
O'Brien said that despite Marquette not bringing a full roster, he expects Friday to give the team an indication of the effect its arduous off-season training has had.
"We're anxious to see where we're at and how we've improved," O'Brien said. "I think the team's really excited to start the season."
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