By Sean Collins
Tuesdays with the Track Cats, a chance to review the previous meet(s) of the weekend and look ahead to upcoming meets. Student-athletes and Director of Cross Country and Track and Field Fred Harvey will provide some insight into the track and field program.
After a successful weekend for the multis in Albuquerque, both Harrison Ivie and Alyssa Thompson had personal-best scores, the rest of the squad returns to action this weekend. The distance runners head to Seattle for the Husky Classic and the jumpers, sprinters, hurdlers and throwers will compete in the Don Kirby Invitational in Albuquerque.
Due to health reasons and just trying to see which group of athletes should make up the relay teams, this weekend will be the first time we’ll see an “A” group of the 4x400-meter relay teams.
“All the groups had a great week of training last week, mentally and physically,” Harvey said. “Coming into this stretch run of the indoor season, I’m expecting some big things to happen this weekend. I’m expecting a lot of personal bests and a lot of people making the Wildcats proud.”
Nnenya Hailey was a second-team NCAA Indoor All-American in 2014 for the 60-meter hurdles. She will make her season debut in that race, which should bode well for the women’s squad.
The Husky Classic in Seattle always has strong distance fields so it will be a good chance for our student-athletes to get in competitive races and clock some fast times.
“I’m pretty excited from the distance group as far as their training was concerned this past week,” Harvey said. “They had some fabulous marks in some event-specific training runs. The hurdlers, jumpers, sprinters and throwers are all ready to go.”
Another meet on the agenda for the Wildcats this weekend is the Millrose Games in New York, N.Y. It is the premier meet of the indoor season held at The Armory. Although none of our current student-athletes will be competing in it, UA alumni Lawi Lalang and Nick Ross will compete along with volunteer assistant coach Bernard Lagat. Having those athletes represent Arizona on the national stage is something special.
“It’s a real feather-in-the-hat for the program,” Harvey said. “It tells you a lot about what (Vice President of Athletics) Greg Byrne allows us to do, inviting and keeping that level of athlete within the family. This is a (outdoor) World Championship year, so indoors isn’t a huge thing for a lot of the professional athletes but it’s a really nice stepping stone for the outdoor season. Having Nick Ross compete in the high jump at the Millrose Games as well as Lawi Lalang and Bernard Lagat, the old-school guy, is exciting.”
Ross jumped at The Armory in 2014 and won the invitational high jump section with his clearance of 7-5 (2.26m). Ross was quite sick during the competition and still managed a very impressive mark. So, with him being at 100% this weekend, we can expect good things. Ross’ season opener at the Lobo Collegiate Open, 7-6 (2.29m), is currently the No. 11 mark in the world.
“Watch for some big things, Nick (Ross) opened up huge already,” Harvey said. “He may jump close to 7-7 and 7-8 in this meet. I could see it happening on a runway like they have at The Armory.”
Lalang’s indoor season opener came at The Armory on January 31 when he competed in the distance medley relay for the Kenyan national team. The Armory is what you could call, Lawi’s spot. He competed there three times in his collegiate career. His first trip, he set the collegiate record in the 5K, 13:08.28. His second trip, he ran the mile in 3:54.56, which now ranks as the third-best time in collegiate history. His third run, Lalang ran the mile again and clocked a time of 3:52.88, the collegiate record in the event.
“I watched Lawi (Lalang) run 3:52.33 (mile split) at The Armory two weeks ago,” Harvey said. “He’s ready to run really well.”
The last time Kip, which is what Bernard Lagat is called by his friends and family, and Lalang competed in the same race at The Armory in 2012, it was a monumental day for Arizona. As previously stated, Lalang broke the collegiate record in the 5K on that day. Lagat won that 5K race in 13:07.15 and set the American record in the event. So, they have a history of success. Although, he is 40 years old, never underestimate the heart of a champion.
“Don’t ever, ever discount the old man,” Harvey said. “He’s ready to do some good things and Kip will bring it at that meet.”
