The track season is underway for the men’s and women’s teams, both leading scorers at their first indoor meet in Lamoni.

“The first indoor meet went great,” said senior Emily Salberg. “Everyone came ready to compete and competed well. It was nice to get back on the track again.”

Salberg runs mostly distance events, but she has run anything from the 1600-meter relay to the 5000-meter run. She believes track practice is essential, but after a meet she starts to get pumped again and remembers why it is that she puts forth all the effort every day.

“Track is fun,” Salberg said. “That’s the whole reason we’re out there-to work hard, compete and have some fun.”

Simpson track and field teams have seen some changes this year as Simpson alumna Britta Wey was hired as a new assistant coach.

“Britta is an extremely organized person as well as passionate about track and field,” said Salberg. “I think she was an awesome choice for a new assistant coach, and she brings great experience to us.”

Senior Suzi Anderson has known Wey four years and has run track with her the last three.

“Britta is a good teammate and wants everybody to do their best,” Anderson said. “She is a great motivator, and I think she will benefit the members of the team with her knowledge in the sprints and jumps.”

Anderson runs sprints for the team and also participates in the long jump and triple jump. She believes advantages of being a part of the track team include getting to see good competition, acquiring leadership skills and knowledge of the sport for future job opportunities.

“We have a good women’s team this year,” Anderson said. “It will be exciting to see how the conference rankings go.”

Another member of the women’s track and field team is sophomore Lauren Bucklin. She runs sprints as well, including the 400 hurdles.

Before Christmas break, Bucklin said that the teams were practicing three times a week. She thought the practice schedule was effective, but it depended heavily on whether or not the athlete worked out on their days off. However, she was very glad the teams started early.

“One of the best parts of being on the team is all the new friendships that are created,” Bucklin said. “It is also personally fulfilling, and it helps an athlete work with a team and an individual as well.”

Bucklin is excited for the outdoor season to start, which starts on April 4. She looks forward to Simpson’s home track meet because she likes running at home and having familiar faces cheering the teams on.

All three girls have set personal goals for themselves, but they all agreed that they would like to place higher in the conference than any previous year.

“With the group of people we have this year, both the men and women have a great chance at finishing higher at the conference track meet,” Salberg said.