April 29, 2016
Hey Badger Fans!
Well it was quite a weekend for the Badgers! Our sprints group had some great performances with Lorenzo Larry now leading the Big Ten in the 100 meter run. Our distance crew also had some standouts times at Stanford, with my co-captain and guest blogger for next week having a great run in the 5,000 meters (that’s a lot of laps). It is always interesting to me how diverse my one sport can be. Whereas I do not think I could run a 10K or do the steeplechase to save my life, there are those on the team who would not think of ever throwing a heavy metal ball. It is funny when I tell people that I do track and they are always like “Oh, what do you run?”. I have to laugh and tell them that in reality I throw field. I wonder if there is a t-shirt with that on it. I have talked before about running into people we know when we travel and this trip was no different. It just so happens that some people on our team are friends with former Badger football standout, Melvin Gordon, so he dropped by the meet. This of course, prompted a group picture! We love seeing Badgers when we are on the road.
Last week was a crazy time for me with school coming to a close and the season amping up. Also, like I mentioned last week, we had Buckinghams and the competition in San Diego, but I also had to participate in a part of being an athlete that not many people think about. I am referring to drug testing. As a student-athlete we can be tested at any time by our school, our conference and athletic governing body (the NCAA). These tests are performed at our athletic facilities or at a competition site. The testing is random and tests for street drugs as well as performance enhancing drugs. There is also a national testing program that allows representatives to come find athletes at anytime or place in the day and test them then. It may seem weird and it can be uncomfortable at times, but you are always escorted by your own gender and it is a very serious and official process. I have been selected for it for so long that it is becoming old hat to me. Getting drug tested can be a bit of an inconvenience, but I am happy that these things are being done to keep the sport clean.
As I said above, the Buckinghams took place last week and I am very proud to say that the Men’s Cross Country team and the Women’s Track and Field team took home awards for the highest team GPA’s. We also took home many individual awards from the evening. It is so rewarding to see our team doing well on and off of the track. The various talent acts performed are always fun, but I have to say this years showings were fantastic. Several athletes played music and/ or sang and our very own Tiffany Ike gave a powerful spoken word piece.
Drake Relays will take place this weekend and we will be sending a group out to Des Moines to compete. After this, Gabi Anzalone will do a guest blog post to let you know how things went. The throws squad may or may not be heading for a one-day competition at UW-Whitewater, depending on the weather.
Have a great couple of weeks Badger Fans!
Kelsey Card