LEANN BURKE / THE DEPAUW
After finishing seventh out of eight teams in the North Coast Athletic Conference last year, the women’s track team shows promise this year by not only returning a couple of key competitors, but having a strong class of first-years that’s ready to compete.
Sophomore sprinter Maggie Royalty, who earned all-conference honors last year, will be ready for her junior year, hoping to top her third-place finish in the conference championship last year.
Also returning, for the last time, is senior Celia Kauth—winner of the high jump in the conference championship event last season.
Junior Ellie Sheffield, another returner, said of the new freshman class: “ They are so motivated and talented. We haven’t even had a meet yet and I already know they’re going to be a great asset to the team. Not only athletically, but with their motivation and positive spirits as well.”
“I am really excited to see what the freshman brings to the team this year,” sophomore Meghan Burke said.
Sometimes the transition from high school to college can be challenging, but that doesn’t concern Burke—the work ethic of the freshman class will fix that.
“We have a lot of talented athletes who have been working hard and are ready to contribute,” Burke said. “I’ve been trying to stay in shape, but my efforts are often challenged by Marvins.”
Staying healthy is going to be key for the team, seeing as the season is four months long and includes almost twenty events.
“The biggest challenge will be staying focused throughout the long season,” Burke said. “There are a lot of meets, and we just need to make sure we stay healthy and motivated for the long haul.”
Within the conference, one of DePauw’s biggest rivals is the Big Red of Denison University.
“I am most excited to face Denison this year because they are extremely competitive and hard to beat,” Burke said, “and mostly I want to see their star, Aedin Brennan.”
Brennan is a two-time All-American going into her junior year, with a seventh place finish at nationals under her belt.
The team is confident they’ll have a more successful season this year.
“I am definitely seeing improvements [from last year] already,” Burke said. “The freshman are all really motivated and we have all been putting in a lot of time and energy to the sport, so I am hopeful for the season and excited to see what it will bring.”
The new season starts Friday nihgt with the DePauw Indoor Invitational at 6 p.m. The field events will begin at 6 p.m. with the women’s weight throw and the running events will also begin at 6 p.m. with the women’s distance medley relay.
The invitational will be at the indoor track on DePauw’s athletics campus.