Head track and field director
Steve Rainbolt, seniors
Kaden Griffin and
Kelsey Slawson, fielded questions Tuesday afternoon, on the winter break and the upcoming Jan. 11-12, Hawkeye Invitational in Iowa City, Iowa.
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HEAD COACH STEVE RAINBOLT ON...
...the upcoming Hawkeye Invitational:
"I'm excited about going to Iowa, it's a meet that I've been wanting to go to for a couple of years. They have this fabulous track and field facility from the World Championships, they bought a World Championships track and set it up in their building that was a heck of a project. It is going to be really great to be on such a high profile track and field facility. They've got a nice program there and there will be a good field."
...expectations on the first meet back after winter break:
"It's always a mixed bag, there are people who startle us with terrific performances and there are others that clearly come back from the winter break not ready. It's always
dissapointing and frustrating when people come back and it's evident that they were not able to accomplish what they needed to. Generally speaking we usually round into form and I'll look back somewhere around March 1st and think we survived it. That whole winter break is hard on a track team, it's a four-week period of time where the athletes are on their own. In the case of a good athlete who takes care of business, they come back and they're fine. I saw Kaden running down the straightaway and thought he looks good. I go to these meets with a lot of experience as a coach and take in stride whatever happens and then we adjust from there."
...Kaden Griffin:
"I'm excited to see Kaden venture off with more of an individual event focus. He's been doing the multi-events and he's startled us with some terrific performances in the individual events after having done a multi-event competition, to see what he might be able to accomplish in a variety of events fresh, I think is going to be really interesting and exciting."
...Kelsey Slawson:
"Kelsey has elevated herself to an extremely high level and I feel like senior seasons are really special. She's a school record holder and who knows what level she might end up throwing at this year, I feel like the possibilities are limitless."
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SENIOR KELSEY SLAWSON ON...
...expectations for the Hawkeye Invitational:
"Going into the first meet everyone is just getting back into the swing of things because training over break is different than throwing in competition. I think the expectation is to go in and pick up from where we left off at Intrasquad."
...the competition of throwers in The American:
"I try to focus on just myself, but seeing the other competition is definitely extra motivation to go to the gym and keep lifting more. There are quite a few returners and I think the competition will be just as competitive as it was last year."
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SENIOR KADEN GRIFFIN ON...
...expectations for the Hawkeye Invitational:
"I don't think there is major expectations, but I would like to see our women compete since we had a major redshirt season last year and I'm excited to see what they can do as a team. It's a big test for us, after all the training we did in the fall, this will be a good measure to see where we can go from here."
...transitioning from the multi-events to individual events:
"It's about how I can help the team, I feel like in the individual events I can score more than I can in the multi and during my tenure here that's been the case. The transition has been easier because it is more relaxed, the training is still the same but I have a lot less to worry about. I feel more refreshed and I can't wait to see what I will do this weekend."
