Track and field: Harper gets ready to race at nationals
Giving your squad the best chance at winning sounds like a good game plan, and that's the approach coach Jim Macnider is taking for his Harper College track and field teams heading into this weekend's NJCAA championships in Utica, N.Y.
One aspect Macnider won't be focused on is the times and distances his athletes produce.
"These national meets are not about how fast you run," he said.
So the Hawks will instead put their energies into racing, and they figure to be in the thick of that once again. The Harper women's team is ranked No. 3 and the men's team is No. 4.
Those are actually lower-than-usual rankings for Harper teams, but they're not unexpected. Macnider said construction on campus forced Harper to chance from its normal practice schedule, which had an effect on participation.
"Our numbers were down," said Macnider, who specified that the athletes who committed have been great this season.
That would include Natalie Cook (Jacobs). She's committed to a track future at North Central College, and the sophomore is the top seed in five events. Her best races are the 800 and the 1,500; she's the only competitor with a sub-five-minute seed in the 1,500.
"She's having a fantastic season," Macnider said. "She is very focused."
Another bright spot in the women's 4 x 400 relay of Angelina Nichols (Christian Liberty), Grace Carey (Barrington), Rachael Temple (Grant) and Cook. They've posted a 4:18.00, which is the second-best time in the country this spring.
Other key competitors include Breanna Bogucki (Cary-Grove) and Taylor Kriess (Palatine.)
Bogucki is the top seed in the 5,000 and 10,000 meters. Macnider said the Kentucky Wesleyan commit has a great story. After not competing as a junior in high school, she finished second in the 10k last year at nationals.
Kriess is the third seed in the 5k and will also race the 10k. MacNider is hoping she can get second and third in those events.
Fourth-seeded shot putter Maddie Bobinski (Maine West) qualified in four events and the coaching staff thinks she could score in all of them.
Ryan Ziolkowski will feature prominently this weekend for the men. The Barrington alum will take the blocks in three events. Earlier this season he ran the second-fastest time in country in the 800 meters.
Macnider feels Ziolkowski has a chance to win that race, and he'll also run the 4 x 800 and 4 x 400 relays.
"He's a very talented young man," Macnider said.
Kole Longsworth is another Hawk who will run multiple relays, in addition to competing in two jumping events and two sprints. He's seeded second in the triple jump and will also try long jump. And he'll sprint in the 100 and 200 meters.
Scott Williams will look to defend his national championship at 10,000 meters and will also run the 5k. That's a tough double, but Macnider expects him to "take it one race at a time. Nobody in the 5k will be fresh."