COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – The 2015 Ohio Valley Conference Outdoor Track & Field Championships are right around the corner, and the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles will be looking to build off the successful regular season.
The 2015 OVC Men's and Women's Outdoor Track & Field Championship will be held May 15-16 on the campus of Austin Peay University in Clarksville, Tenn.
Head coach Wayne Angel broke down the team goals in to two simple words: Score points.
"We want to score points. We want to maximize the momentum we have had in the last three meets. We are on the verge of having breakthroughs in three or four events and we feel that if we have a great meet, and get some athletes to the finals, we will score points. If we are able to break school records, that is a bonus too. That is what we are going in to do, continue to build on our momentum from the last few meets, along with that, training is going very well, so let the chips fall where they may."
The Golden Eagles have continued to make strides in elevating the success of the program.
"We have been able to maximize the potential of our student-athletes so far this season," Angel said. "As we head into the OVC Championships, our athletes are going to have confidence in themselves because their training has been going very well, and they have more confidence in themselves and in their coaches. I think we are going to get some great performances out of our athletes. Now will that equate to the higher tiers in the OVC competition? I don't know if it will or not, but we are going to fight, and we are going to fight hard."
Throughout the course of the outdoor meets, 17 different Golden Eagles achieved personal bests, including 10 PR marks at the Tennessee Challenge, the final meet of the regular season.
For junior Atlanta Westbrook, one new PR this season meant a new school record. Westbrook, who set the triple jump record with a distance of 37-08.5 in 2014, bested her own mark by 4.75 inches, with a mark of 38-01.25 to finish sixth overall.
"I think it is a confidence booster for our athletes that we have been able to hit new personal bests. As we went into each meet, and kept improving, the athletes began feel better about themselves, about the coaching, about the competition, and I think it contributes to everything they've been doing in training, and the things we have shared with them about being good athletes. If you eat right, sleep right, dress right, do what you need to do, and when you get to competition day, you'll be ready. The bottom line is it is a process, and we've been preparing them to complete the process and continue to move forward."
