Marquette University Athletics
In The Fast Lane
2/3/2000 12:00:00āÆAM | Men's Indoor Track
Feb. 2, 2000
Once a week, sophomore Brian Hardin will share his thoughts on the men's track 2000 season. Here is this week's entry:
We got our first taste of real competition this past weekend and while for some of us it may have had a bitter taste at first, I hope the flavor left in our mouths will have us coming back for more. We faced some stiff competition in the Twin Cities with teams the caliber of Georgia, Minnesota, and SW Missouri State, however I would reckon to say that we held our own in most areas.
We entered guys in eleven events and placed at least one person in the top five in all but one of those events. We didn't have any event winners, which was dissapointing, however there were a number of quality efforts displayed. I was most impressed with Ken Mueller , Greg Uher and our 4X400 relay team. In his first 800 of the season, Kenny ran with a couple of the top half-milers in the country and did an unbelievable job. Greg continued to impress people in the shot put, moving up to number three on the all-time list. And our 4X4 unit ran a season best even without one of out top guys on the relay. If we would have had him, we would have crushed Minnesota, a perennial power in the Big 10, and had beaten Georgia, a force from the SEC, down even more.
I feel the only reason why Minnesota and Georgia looked better than us was because they were able to enter people in every event. While our top guys can compete with theirs, it is the depth of the two squads which allows them to place more people in each event. Over time, I am confident that we will be able to develop the athletes needed to compete with these two powers in every facet of track and field. But for now, both of those schools are able to beat us in some areas of the sport because they rely on the strength and speed of their football players. As for the way I performed last weekend, I would say that I was mediocre. I didn't run a very smart 400 in the individual. I led for the first 350 meters, then I stopped running and let a guy from Minnesota go by me for a win. I was pleased with the way I came back on the relay, but my open 400 has me itching for another shot this Saturday.
These next two weekends have been circled on my calendar since the schedule came out. We travel to Iowa State next week and this weekend we are going to Northern Iowa. Being a product of Des Moines, it is understandable why I might be so excited about these trips. I'll talk about Northern Iowa this week and save Iowa State for next week. This weekend, i am looking forward to the tremendous competition and hope that the team and myself can rise up to the challenge. We have faced both Northern Iowa and Wisconsin already this year and know what they have to offer. Kansas will be the fourth team at the meet and will represent the Big 12 well. As if I didn't need anymore incentive to begin with, my birthday is this weekend and I would love nothing more than to break number 20 in with style by getting a couple of personal records in front of family and friends!!
The field events get going at 9 on Saturday morning with the running events beginning at 1. The meet is inside the UNI-Dome in Cedar Falls and should be another terrific meet. I look to see many fans out there as possible and GO GOLDEN EAGLES!!
Brian Hardin (Class of 2002)
