With over 100 total athletes between the men’s and women’s programs, there is a lot of talent to keep an eye on. Daniel Armstrong, a sophomore high jumper that took the BIG EAST championship as a freshman, is one of the most compelling.
Armstrong was named BIG EAST track and field athlete of the week after recording a personal best mark of 2.17 meters (7.1 feet) in the first meet of the season. That jump ranks second in program history and would have been enough to earn eighth at last year’s national championships.
The women, who are looking to capture their third consecutive BIG EAST title, have just as much returning talent. Junior Monique Felix was named last year’s most outstanding indoor performer in the conference. The runner from Sheboygan, Wisconsin, is in Marquette’s all-time top 10 marks in 11 different indoor and outdoor events. Felix won the indoor pentathlon and in the outdoor season, won the heptathlon and high jump in last season’s BIG EAST championships meet.
Seniors will pace the women’s indoor team this season, and none are more important that sprinter Cassy Goodrich and Terica Harris, who splits time between sprints and jumps.
Harris is second all-time in Marquette history in both the long jump and triple jump. She was named the most outstanding athlete at the 2017 Outdoor BIG EAST Championships.
Goodrich owns four school records with the fastest indoor 200, 300, 400, and 600-meter times in Marquette history. She is another 2017 All-BIG EAST performer.
Rogers will rely on that senior core to deliver another BIG EAST championship.
“On the women’s side, we have an amazing senior class,” Rogers said. “With our talent level, we’re going to be in it to win it again.
Since the formation of the current BIG EAST, Marquette has been one of the premier teams in the conference.
“We always want to be in the mix to win conference,” Rogers said. “With the teams we have coming back, I feel both sides will definitely be in the mix.”
Rogers has high expectations for his team.
“I feel like we have built ourselves to a point where the program is running,” said Rogers. “Sometimes it takes a while to get all the pieces together, but I think we’re starting to enter that place.”
With an abundance of returning talent, Marquette’s track and field programs made a splash at the Blue and Gold Invitational at the University of Notre Dame’s campus in South Bend, Indiana.
“We were very pleased with how things went on that day,” said head coach Bert Rogers, who is entering his 14th season with the program and his 11th as head coach. “We had a lot of returners and seniors hitting big marks early. Hopefully, that’s an indication of good things to come”
Over the course of the meet, Marquette achieved 45 personal records, four event victories, and two school records.
Both sides will have an opportunity to continue a strong start to the season Saturday at the John Tierney Invitational, which is on University-Wisconsin Milwaukee’s campus.
