University of North Carolina Ashville Athletics
Photo by: UNC Asheville
Season in Review: Track and Field Puts Together Historic Season
07.05.2017 | Track and Field
ASHEVILLE, N.C. – The 2017 UNC Asheville track and field season was one that put the Bulldogs on the national stage.
That in itself makes for a great year, but for head coach Jesse Norman the indoor and outdoor season for Bulldog track and field was special for so many reasons in addition to Matthew Harding making an appearance at the 2017 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore.
"In general, the indoor was a little bit of a letdown," Norman said. "We did not do as well as we thought we could have on the men's or the women's side. For outdoors, we rebounded a lot and I think a lot of that was that we're probably set up more for being a better outdoor team than an indoor team with for example Kayli Nichols in the hurdles. A big thing also was Hunter Koike being healthy. The finish at the Big South Outdoor Championships with the guys scoring 41 points and the women scoring 33 was the highest combined point total since I've been here, so we're definitely moving in the right direction. We've got some really good recruits coming in next year on the men's and women's side that I think will help up kind of close the gap up even more."
It was a big year for the teams as noted, but Harding's appearance as a freshman at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships is something that Norman and his staff believe they can also build on going forward.
"Definitely Matthew was very much a highlight of the year," Norman said. "The attitude that he brought to the men's team was very contagious, and it was something very cool to see and experience. He's a very competitive guy and I think he kind of elevated everybody else. I think you saw that in the 4x400 where they finished in second place at the Big South Outdoor Championships and in third place at the Big South Indoor Championships."
Overall, Harding's strong showing at the national level and the performance of the men's and women's teams at the conference outdoor championships to Norman is further indication of the focal points of the program paying off.
"For us as a program we really put more of the emphasis on cross country and outdoor track," Norman said. "That's kind of where are focus points are at, so we really try to make sure we run well in those two seasons. Of course there were some snafus and some things to happen as they always do, but to kind of have it all come together with what we had at the conference championships was very exciting for us as a coaching staff. Hopefully too, it helps everyone kind of buy into the training and racing philosophy going forward."
Those philosophies are already in place this summer as the Bulldogs are very much into preparation for the upcoming 2017-18 cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field seasons.
"It's about getting back into training," Norman said. "Everybody is kind of back at different points of training right now. We're kind of easing them back into it. The goal in the speed and power side is to get back to sprinting and lifting and doing all of that stuff you need to be doing. We're pretty relaxed to a degree for the summer and through August. Then we start cranking it up from there. On the distance side, it's somewhat kind of similar, but we've got a little bit more of a sense of urgency."
Norman and his staff did change up one of their approaches this offseason, and they think it will pay off in the upcoming year.
"One of the things that we did this year is we had an end of the year meeting with all of the returners on the men's and women's side, and we kind of laid out our expectations for them," Norman said. "That's something we had not done at that point of the year. We usually always did it the first week back. I think them kind of knowing here is what we expect of everybody and this is what you need to do during the summer hopefully will be good. The next couple of months for us as a staff is getting stuff ready and getting into gear and doing a lot of recruiting."
To learn more about UNC Asheville track and field and cross country, please visit uncabulldogs.com. You can also like UNC Asheville track and field and cross country on Twitter at @UNCABulldogXCTF and on Instagram at @uncaxctf.
That in itself makes for a great year, but for head coach Jesse Norman the indoor and outdoor season for Bulldog track and field was special for so many reasons in addition to Matthew Harding making an appearance at the 2017 NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Eugene, Ore.
"In general, the indoor was a little bit of a letdown," Norman said. "We did not do as well as we thought we could have on the men's or the women's side. For outdoors, we rebounded a lot and I think a lot of that was that we're probably set up more for being a better outdoor team than an indoor team with for example Kayli Nichols in the hurdles. A big thing also was Hunter Koike being healthy. The finish at the Big South Outdoor Championships with the guys scoring 41 points and the women scoring 33 was the highest combined point total since I've been here, so we're definitely moving in the right direction. We've got some really good recruits coming in next year on the men's and women's side that I think will help up kind of close the gap up even more."
It was a big year for the teams as noted, but Harding's appearance as a freshman at the NCAA Division I Outdoor Track and Field Championships is something that Norman and his staff believe they can also build on going forward.
"Definitely Matthew was very much a highlight of the year," Norman said. "The attitude that he brought to the men's team was very contagious, and it was something very cool to see and experience. He's a very competitive guy and I think he kind of elevated everybody else. I think you saw that in the 4x400 where they finished in second place at the Big South Outdoor Championships and in third place at the Big South Indoor Championships."
Overall, Harding's strong showing at the national level and the performance of the men's and women's teams at the conference outdoor championships to Norman is further indication of the focal points of the program paying off.
"For us as a program we really put more of the emphasis on cross country and outdoor track," Norman said. "That's kind of where are focus points are at, so we really try to make sure we run well in those two seasons. Of course there were some snafus and some things to happen as they always do, but to kind of have it all come together with what we had at the conference championships was very exciting for us as a coaching staff. Hopefully too, it helps everyone kind of buy into the training and racing philosophy going forward."
Those philosophies are already in place this summer as the Bulldogs are very much into preparation for the upcoming 2017-18 cross country and indoor and outdoor track and field seasons.
"It's about getting back into training," Norman said. "Everybody is kind of back at different points of training right now. We're kind of easing them back into it. The goal in the speed and power side is to get back to sprinting and lifting and doing all of that stuff you need to be doing. We're pretty relaxed to a degree for the summer and through August. Then we start cranking it up from there. On the distance side, it's somewhat kind of similar, but we've got a little bit more of a sense of urgency."
Norman and his staff did change up one of their approaches this offseason, and they think it will pay off in the upcoming year.
"One of the things that we did this year is we had an end of the year meeting with all of the returners on the men's and women's side, and we kind of laid out our expectations for them," Norman said. "That's something we had not done at that point of the year. We usually always did it the first week back. I think them kind of knowing here is what we expect of everybody and this is what you need to do during the summer hopefully will be good. The next couple of months for us as a staff is getting stuff ready and getting into gear and doing a lot of recruiting."
To learn more about UNC Asheville track and field and cross country, please visit uncabulldogs.com. You can also like UNC Asheville track and field and cross country on Twitter at @UNCABulldogXCTF and on Instagram at @uncaxctf.
Players Mentioned
Distance
/ Track and Field
Sprints
/ Track and Field
Sprints
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