While on the last lap, senior Dominique Curry is slowly inching toward the leader while running with the cold wind and rain in his face. Step after step,  he gets closer and closer until he manages to pass the leader and win the heat. Practice paid off with having to train in similar weather conditions.

A lot goes into track. Whether it’s running to throwing, or newbies to experienced athletes, hard work is still required to achieve success.

 “Each athlete comes to us at different levels and goals so we are sure to take this into consideration when we make our practice plans and put them into specific meets/events,” head coach Thomas Messier said.

Curry is one of the more experienced runners. Since he was a cross-country runner and a distant track runner in track, he’s used to running a lot and for pretty long distances.

“I’ve always loved running since I’ve been a little kid,” Curry said. “The feeling of being against the wind is just super nice and the competition of me against the other people as I get faster and faster is nice.”

Not every track athlete does the running events. Some other events athletes can do are throwing and jumping events, like long jump and discus. 

“I originally did hurdles, but then in 8th grade, they had me try out throwing and they thought I was really good, so I decided to stick with throwing. It was just something that I was naturally good at,” freshman Mia Dixon said.

Nebraska’s weather isn’t always consistent. It can be cold and rainy and hot and sunny all in the same week. The weather can pose some challenges when it comes to practice and meets, so it  can help athletes to try their best to depict the weather.  

“I feel like the weather is very motivating cause if it’s cold, it’s like a lot of people complain about it, but honestly for me it’s better because you don’t exist. It’s kind of refreshing. Think of it as motivation and instead of a hardship,” Dixon said.

The weather is an inspiration to work harder. In addition to the weather, Messier motivates his athletes to push themselves, to get better. Coaches help train and motivate athletes so  they can reach their highest potential in a particular sport.

“One thing I try to push to my athletes is to be positive and always keep looking forward,” Messier said. “It can be tempting to sulk on a poor performance in one event, but you can’t let it affect the next attempt or next event.”

It’s a continuous cycle of seniors athletes leaving  and younger athletes joining each year. Like any other team, coaches have  to adjust to these changes every year to increase their teams chances.

“This year we have a very young team that is full of potential. Our season will really be focused on developing and growing as a team,” Messier said.