FRESNO, CA - For the FPU men’s track and field team, this year has been one filled with blessings and great individual achievements. As for any athletic team, conditioning and staying healthy is always one of the keys to a successful season; it’s the health and the work ethic that can determine whether or not a team reaches its full potential and competes at their best.
With the GSAC Championship just days away, both our men and women’s team are excited and looking forward to this long awaited challenge. For the men’s team, last season was one filled with injuries and as a result, a lot of the athletes weren't able to compete to their full potential. This year is a different story. For junior Josh Hodges, one of the core returning athletes, this year has been good partly because of the fact that the team has been able to remain healthy.
“I think everybody being healthy has been a key to our success,” Hodges said when asked about this year’s team.
Heading to the final stretch of the season head coach Eric Schwab understands that it is very important for the team to perform to their full potential.
When asked about where he thinks the team currently stands in GSAC he replied, “We are up there in the top three.”
One of the coaching staff’s goals heading into this weekend’s meet in San Diego is to score as many points as possible.
“We can’t control what other teams do, but we just need to go out there and score as many points as possible. Put our team in the right situation and I think we’re capable of doing that,” said coach Schwab.
The story this year has been not only the returning athletes, but also the new class of freshmen who have proven to be very effective in their first year. With freshmen Ethan Dejongh leading the way, the newcomers have been able to contribute in a lot of different events and score points for the team.
Coach Schwab describes freshman Dejongh as an “excellent athlete”. Dejongh is nationally ranked in three different events; the triple jump, high jump and the 110 hurdles. He is also an automatic qualifier for the 2009 NAIA Track and Field Outdoors Championship.
For athletes like top-ten ranked Wes Wells, this season has been more about the team than individual achievements.
When asked about the most important thing for him this year he replied, “ I think just loving what I do as an athlete, my teammates, and just being able to compete against your teammates has really helped me this year.”
Most people consider track and field to be an individual sport, but in order for our team to be successful this weekend it will take a team effort. The team motto this year is “Do Work” and that’s all the motivation this team needs going into this weekend’s GSAC Championship in San Diego.