DAYTON – The University of Dayton women's track and field team kicks off the new year with their first meet of their spring season this Saturday in Bowling Green, Ohio.
Last indoor season, the Flyers finished their campaign strong by placing third in the Atlantic 10 Championships. This year, the team will have 11 seniors, including distance runner Emily Sreenan, who is returning for her fifth season. The Flyers also have 13 freshmen, with Evelyn Albers and Raegan Ernst having already competed in the pentathlon at the Findlay Oiler Open in December.
The field events are scheduled to begin at 12:00 p.m. and the running events will start at 1:00 p.m.
We interviewed Associate Head Coach Kevin Gilhuly to get his perspective on what we can look forward to seeing from his team for this 2023 indoor season.
Team Strengths
What are going to be some of the strengths of your team for this season?
Gilhuly: We have a talented group of returning athletes this year with a strong supportive group of new student-athletes. The key difference with this group is our depth. Track and Field is a team sport similar to Football in that each individual has their job, and if everyone does their job, we can come away with a lot of wins. What is not typically showcased in Track and Field is the unique training environment that we have established here at Dayton. We have a training group that is so competitive that our biggest competition is lining up right next to each other every day at practice or pushing you in the weight room. We are very happy to have Coach
David Dobson joining us on staff to oversee the Mid-Distance and Distance event groups. He did a great job with our cross-country team this season, and we are looking to build off that momentum going into this indoor season.
Seniors and Leadership
How do you expect the seniors and leaders of the team to impact the culture of the program?
Gilhuly: I've been lucky enough to watch our team evolve each year over the last six years and to see how much the culture of this year's group has improved into an elite program with hard-working individuals that never settle for anything less than being the best. Previous years have laid the groundwork to show this group what it takes to be great, so you have first-year student-athletes training at senior-season maturity and intensity. To say this group is hungry would be a complete understatement. The seniors of this group have had to deal with the challenges of missed seasons and missed opportunities to showcase their hard work, and they are ready to make some noise in the A-10 Conference.
Brand-New Flyers
What can Flyer fans look forward to seeing from the newcomers on your team?
Gilhuly: Flyer fans have a lot to pay attention to this indoor season with this massive group of newcomers as well as our experienced returning student-athletes. We have depth in events that we were lacking before, and that is going to allow us to grab more points than we have had in the past. Associate Head Coach
Aaron Gordon has done an amazing job building this Sprints & Jumps program by changing it from an area where we struggled to score points into one of our strongest events with multiple A-10 champions in the Sprints alone. We are looking to compound off that success as he continues to sign top level Sprints talent and develop them into champions. Our Throws program has consistently been on everyone's radar in the A-10, and we are looking to continue that winning tradition.
A-10 Aspirations
What are your goals for A-10s both individually and as a team this season?
Gilhuly: We have a lot of great athletes that have been developing over this off-season that will shock the A-10. We have seen development across all disciplines that we believe will put Flyers in many scoring positions. We have the talent to take home individual championships, and as we continue to improve this season, we will be in a great position to contend against the best in the A-10 Conference.
For live streaming and more information regarding the Falcon Early Bird Open, click on the links above.
