On a cold, rainy, Friday afternoon in New York, the Marquette track and field team boarded a bus after practice to head back to its hotel. It was the day before the Big East Indoor Championships, and anticipation was growing.

"The atmosphere here is exciting," sophomore Olivia Johnson said before the meet. "We're ready to go."

But the dreary weather proved an ominous sign for the Golden Eagles, who were up to their headbands in quality competition. It might have been an indoor competition, but the rain clouds were pouring right above their heads. At the end both the men's and women's teams struggled for consistency.

Saturday, the first of the two-day event, showed some promise for team. Senior Mark Kopecki and sophomore Tyler O'Brien qualified in their preliminary events – the mile run and 200-meters, respectively. Jessica Ehlen's fifth- place performance in the weight throw earned a point toward her team total.

That evening, coach Bert Rogers reflected on the team's progress.

"We didn't quite have it today," he said. "Some of (the team members) are pretty disappointed with their performances."

Sunday marked a new day filled with plenty of opportunities for Marquette to regain some swagger.

The 4×800 relays was the best event of the day for both the men's and women's teams. The men turned in the best time for Marquette in 27 years, but that was only good enough for sixth place. The women posted the second fastest time in school history and took seventh.

Mark Kopecki's mile time increased five seconds in his final, and slipped all the way to 12th. Like his teammate, O'Brien couldn't replicate his fifth place preliminary finish, taking seventh in the 200-meter final.

"I was a little disappointed with how I did in the 200," O'Brien said. "I believe that there is a lot of work to be done to be more competitive in the Big East conference, but we're in the right direction."

Jayne Grebinski ran the best 3000-meters of her life, clocking in at just over 9:40. It was the third-best indoor performance in Marquette history. But it was only good for 10th place.

"It was one of the best races I've had in a long time," Grebinski said. "The caliber of women competing this year was amazing. It was an honor just to be in it."

The Marquette men finished last in 13th place with just 11 team points. The women's team's nine points didn't fare them much better, as they finished 15th out of 16 teams. Both Connecticut men's (138.50 points). and women's (107) teams were victorious, and it wasn't close.

"As a team, we're trying to get better," Rogers said. "We want to take these experiences and we build them towards the outdoor season."