Kennedy women’s track season is off to a great start. Last week on Tuesday, March 17 they competed in their first meet, which was the MVC Women’s Indoor Meet at UNI. Teams were not scored at this meet but there were fourteen teams there, and our girls performed well under the circumstances.

The team faced some challenges leading up to their first competition. The weather kept them from practicing on the track as much as they would have liked, and the long jumpers and high jumpers didn’t get to practices on the surfaces they needed.

“Most of our running has been in a parking lot that is uphill one way and downhill the other,” Women’s Track Coach Jensen said. Along with this, other schools have had 2 or three indoor meets already. This left the team at a disadvantage. Jensen added, “It was just difficult to get all the pieces fit together so we could go and compete at a meet after having such limited time to get anything done on our own track.

Despite this inconvenience, Jensen said, “I think our performances were really good for where we are at right now, and I think that it showed that we have a lot of people that are anxious to compete and work hard at track and field.”

Jensen says the girls can improve by showing up to practice every single day, working hard, resting when they need to get rest, eating healthy, and supporting each other, and being good teammates. He has even motivated those on the team who are unable to run.

“Being injured and watching my teammates compete makes me want to get back out there and work even harder,” Halle Rittgers, jr., said.

As the season progresses the expectations and goals are set higher.

“I would say to finish in the top three in our division of the conference; compete for those top three spots. It’s City High, Jefferson, and Iowa City West so it’s going to be tough,” Jensen said.