2008 Woodie Awards
Track gears up for Bucknell Bison Open
By Matt Matusek
Rocket Staff Writer
Issue date: 1/20/06 Section: Sports
The Slippery Rock University track and field team will try to shake off the rust from the winter break when it hosts the Slippery Rock Invitational tomorrow.
This meet will be the second of the indoor season; the Bucknell Bison Opener took place on Dec. 3, 2005.
In that meet, SRU showed signs that the team can be very powerful, with a first place finish each from juniors Preston Gibbs and Andi Rose, and sophomore Joe Labarbera, along with a plethora of top 5 finishes in the other events.
"The early meets of the indoor season don't mean too much as far as where you finish is concerned," Rock coach John Papa said. "Right now I'm looking to see as much improvement as I can from everybody, and use the indoor season as a good way to practice for the outdoor season."
"We need to get much sharper in the upcoming months," Papa said. "From what I see in practice so far, the coaching staff and I are very excited about our potential, and we should be a very good team throughout the year."
In the Bucknell Bison Opener, SRU competed against teams such as the University of Pennsylvania, James Madison University, Georgetown University, Morgan State University, and of course Bucknell University.
The level of competition will not be nearly as high in the Slippery Rock Invitational as it was in the Bucknell Bison Opener.
"We should be able to place very high in every event against these teams. I was very happy with the way the kids came back from the winter break conditioning-wise, very impressed. The only group that isn't really ready yet is the distance runners," Papa said.
Next weekend, SRU will travel back to Bucknell University for the Bucknell Bison Open.
This meet will be the second of the indoor season; the Bucknell Bison Opener took place on Dec. 3, 2005.
In that meet, SRU showed signs that the team can be very powerful, with a first place finish each from juniors Preston Gibbs and Andi Rose, and sophomore Joe Labarbera, along with a plethora of top 5 finishes in the other events.
"The early meets of the indoor season don't mean too much as far as where you finish is concerned," Rock coach John Papa said. "Right now I'm looking to see as much improvement as I can from everybody, and use the indoor season as a good way to practice for the outdoor season."
"We need to get much sharper in the upcoming months," Papa said. "From what I see in practice so far, the coaching staff and I are very excited about our potential, and we should be a very good team throughout the year."
In the Bucknell Bison Opener, SRU competed against teams such as the University of Pennsylvania, James Madison University, Georgetown University, Morgan State University, and of course Bucknell University.
The level of competition will not be nearly as high in the Slippery Rock Invitational as it was in the Bucknell Bison Opener.
"We should be able to place very high in every event against these teams. I was very happy with the way the kids came back from the winter break conditioning-wise, very impressed. The only group that isn't really ready yet is the distance runners," Papa said.
Next weekend, SRU will travel back to Bucknell University for the Bucknell Bison Open.
