The men's indoor track and field team this Saturday opens its season at the Husky Invitational hosted by Northeastern at the Reggie Lewis Track and Athletic Center.
After training all fall, the squad will finally hit the track, using this meet as a jumping-off point to see where their training has brought them thus far.
For most of the athletes, Saturday also marks the first meet since the end of the outdoor season last spring, so the Jumbos will use it as a chance to brush the dust off their racing legs — or jumping legs or throwing arms.
"It's definitely exciting to see how everybody will do individually," junior co-captain Jeff Prunier said. "Everyone looks strong and is in really good shape in practice, so it will be really exciting to see everyone run 100 percent for the first time, especially the freshmen."
The squad has been gearing up for the season since September by attending captains' practices, while most long- and middle-distance runners were competing in cross country.
"I thought fall training went fantastically," coach Ethan Barron said. "Our captains [senior] Sam Read and Jeff Prunier did an amazing job leading the group and keeping them energized and focused. The team came in incredibly fit this year."
Saturday's meet will be a good opportunity for the freshmen to showcase their talent in their first collegiate meet. The young squad will look to the depth of the underclassmen this year to successfully rebound from the graduation of a very talented senior class.
"The younger guys have shown great energy going into the season, and I think that will definitely carry through," Prunier said. "It's always really exciting to hear the freshmen talk about the first meet and how excited they are, and to see how that energy moves through the rest of the team. They're all in great shape. I think the freshman and sophomore classes will definitely be a crucial part of the team."
The team will not necessarily be focusing on hitting personal bests on Saturday, but instead will try to start the season off on a good foot before the bulk of meets between January and March.
"I'd like to see the returners have a little better starting-off point than last year," Barron said. "We're not looking for the best performance in someone's life, we're looking for the best starting point in someone's life. I'd like to just see the freshmen showing some comfort in their first collegiate track meet."
"For this meet, the most important thing is coming out feeling like you ran the best race you could, and the times will come later in the season," Prunier said. "[For the freshmen, it's] basically just coming out really positive. It's the first time they'll be running in a college meet, and the strategy is a little different, and the competition is definitely different. I just want everyone to come out feeling like they had a strong race."
According to Prunier, this fall's training has really paid off, with each event group looking stronger and fitter than ever.
"The field events are all really looking forward to this meet," Prunier said. "They're a pretty young team, and they've really worked hard in the weight room this season to put on a lot of muscle, and people have already PR'ed in practice, so they're really excited to really capitalize on that in the first meet."
He added that some key athletes to watch would be junior Adam Aronson and sophomore Curtis Yancy in the throws, sophomore Gbola Ajayi in the jumps and Read in the pole vault, all of whom seem to have made big improvements this fall.
The Jumbos are optimistic about Saturday and ready to see what their young squad is capable of.
"The team's been coming together really well and forming a great attitude and character, which I think is putting us in a great position going into Husky," Prunier said. "Everyone feels really prepared to go into Husky and show what they've been working for."
