COLLEGE PARK, Md. – The Maryland track and field programs have had a quick turnaround since ending the indoor season just weeks ago, as the squad now shifts its focus to the outdoor campaign ahead. The men's and women's teams are already one meet into the 2016 season, fresh off a solid performance at the Central Florida Black & Gold Challenge March 18-19.
At the helm of the Maryland track and field programs in his 13th season is head coach Andrew Valmon, who has been excited with the team's potential and growth over the past months.
“We want this group shooting high and looking at the first round of the NCAAs and the second round in the finals,” said Valmon. “I think it can become contagious, and when you look around we have points in so many different areas. We just need to get our team to believe and take advantage of the opportunities that they have.”
The Terps will bring the Kehoe Track & Field complex to life for the Maryland Invitational this Saturday, March 26 in the first of two home outdoor meets at the facility this season. The Terps will welcome American, Coppin State, George Washington, Howard and among others to College Park for the event. For more information and a meet schedule, click here.
WOMEN'S TEAM
The women's squad will be led by its 2016 NCAA Indoor qualifiers in senior Chioma Onyekwere and junior Micha Powell. The duo represented the Terps at the 2016 championships, finishing as Second Team All-Americans while notching top-three finishes in their respective events at the Big Ten Championships.
Powell took third at Big Tens in the 400 meter dash, posting a personal-best 52.56 to qualify for her first NCAA Championships. Powell is already ahead of her pace that qualified her for last year's NCAA East Regionals. She took 26th in the prelims at that event last season with a time of 53.48, and appears primed to take the next step this May.
Onyekwere is fresh off her first career appearance at the NCAA Indoor Championships where she took 14th in the weight throw with a toss of 19.49 meters. The Fairfax, Va. native was a 2015 NCAA East Regional qualifier in both the discus and shot put, and sits in second on the all-time Maryland list in both events (discus: 167-09, shot put: 55-11.00).
Valmon expects the 400 meter hurdles to be a strong event for the Terps, as a trio Maryland sprinters went 1-2-3 at the UCF Black & Gold challenge last weekend. Junior Lisa Meneau was a 2014 NCAA Regional qualifier in the event, and ranks third all-time at Maryland with a mark of 58.20. Juniors Alexandra Cimino (1:01.29) and Taylor Tucker (1:01.41) are also inside the Maryland top-10, and will also look to qualify along with Meneau for NCAAs.
Sophomore Alexandra Lucki will attempt to build off a solid indoor season in the middle distance events for the Terps where she took seventh in the mile at Big Tens. Lucki ranks eighth all-time at UMD in the 1500 with a time of 4:27.62 as a freshman, and could jump a few spots with another year of development under her belt.
Charlotte Staver, Noella Anyangwe and Peyton Wade will also be names to watch for the Terps in the coming months, while Valmon is also hopeful to pick up much needed points in the steeplechase and the 5000 meter run.
MEN'S TEAM
Youth is the name of the game for the men's program, as the squad continues to rebuild with nine freshmen getting acclimated to their first college outdoor season. Despite the young roster, Valmon is looking ahead to what the future will hold for the Terps in the coming months.
“I think the key is integrating them into the program obviously without the full indoor season,” said Valmon. “Their first couple meets are going to give them a chance to get the rust off. By meet three and four we should probably see what our team will look like. We're really young, and we just want to get a chance to view where they are for training.”
Despite graduating both of its NCAA Regional qualifiers from last season, Maryland has several rising talents ready to step in and qualify in 2016. Junior Brandon Thompson will look to build off a strong performance at the Black & Gold Challenge where he won both the 100 (10.62) and 200 meter events (21.71). His 100 time is already a tenth of a second faster than his 2015 season-best, when he was 16th overall at the Big Ten Championship preliminaries.
Senior Dan Trettel will look to carry over his success from the indoor season onto the outdoor track as he broke the Maryland indoor record in the 800 with a mark of 1:50.17. The Jefferson, Md. native will look to crack into the all-time top-10 outdoor list this spring, after finishing with a season-best 1:50.84 at last season's Morgan State Legacy Meet.
Sophomore Alex Leto has made strides from his rookie outdoor campaign, where he finished with a season-best 48.70 in the 400 meter dash. Leto already cut seven tenths of a second off his time with his finish at the Black & Gold invite (48.00) and will also be a facto for Maryland in the 4x400 relay. Valmon is also expecting big things from sophomore Diego Lyon, who posted a team-best 14.45 in the 110 meter hurdles last year.
Paul Joseph, Dahri Jahn-Richardson and Tom Hogarty will all be names to watch as the season progresses, as Valmon has noted their development throughout the indoor season.
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