Now that we enter the spring and summer months, the Ohio Wesleyan track and field team is making their transition from their indoor season to outdoor events.
During the indoor season, meets are held in arenas or field houses, whereas outdoor meets are subject to various weather conditions on an outdoor track.
Some key differences to note are the sizes of the tracks between the seasons. Indoor tracks are smaller with tighter curves, often negatively impacting racers. Additionally, we can only see events like javelin and discus during the outdoor track season.
Though outdoor is more sought after by track and field athletes, both seasons are equally important. The indoor season is seen as the preparatory phase for later outdoor meets, so effort and training are important.
To get a better understanding of how track athletes view each season, I asked freshman track athlete, Abrianna Hite from Delaware, OH, several questions about her experiences as an athlete.
Hite has been a track athlete for 5 years and is currently a multi-event athlete at Ohio Wesleyan. For Hite, the outdoor season is her favorite because “meets and practices seem better outdoors rather than indoors.”
When identifying these mental challenges, Hite states that the outdoor season is “less mentally challenging because, visually, it looks like you’re running less”.
This mental challenge, again, communicates to non-athletes or those who do not know much about track and field how the environment can impact athletes’ performance.
Hite was also asked how she believes the change from indoor to outdoor will affect the women’s track and field team’s scores as a whole in the upcoming meets.
Hite hopes that the change will “lead to people being more confident in their abilities, contributing to bettering the overall performance of the team”.
The Ohio Wesleyan track and field team’s next home meet is scheduled for Saturday, April 5th, at the George Gauthier Track. Be sure to show up and show your support for our Bishops. Best of luck to the team for their upcoming outdoor season!
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