The University of Tampa men’s track team will kick their season off with a meet facing off against Emberly-Ridge on Feb. 21-22. Later in March they go up against University of South Florida in two back to back meets in Tampa. In March, the Spartans go for the gold at the Florida State University and Raleigh Relays before ending with the University of North Florida Invite toward the end of the month.
With four meets in April, the month starts off with the Florida Relays and another match at Emberly-Ridge. The UT invite begins on April 12 at 5 p.m. with the Tom Jones Meet ending out the month of April. The Georgia Tech Invitational and the NCAA National Championships end out the season in May. Head Coach Jarrett Slaven has high hopes for the men’s team this season.
“Doing well in the NCAA Championships is always a goal of ours,” Slaven said.
With last season’s excellent performance, including multiple personal records broken and feats accomplished, the Spartans have a lot to look forward to this year and a lot to live up to. “We hope to start strong this year, and remain steady throughout the season,” Slaven said.
With a host of returning runners, including seniors Tyrone Clayton and Michael Zwijacz, the Spartans stand ready for the next season. But with eight incoming freshmen, the team may get a dose of some fresh talent this season as they compete for the National Championships. Lars Benner, Jessie Boria, Matt Hoffman and Brendan McGonalge are just a few of the newcomers.
The Spartans have a busy season ahead of them as the number of their meets this year has practically doubled since last season. With the new addition of the Emberly Riddle meets and the UNF Invite, the Spartans have a packed schedule this year. Whether the new competition will present a challenge to the Spartans remains to be seen, but one thing is for sure is that March will be a brutal month for the Spartans as they have five two day meets packed into the third month of the year, with not much of a let up in April.
Many things still remain to be seen as the Spartans prepare for the big season. Will they be able to hold up to last year’s standards? Will the new freshman give them the edge they need to overcome the new competition? With the sudden growth in the Men’s track team will the sport get the attention it deserves? Only one thing is certain, this will be one of the biggest seasons for Men’s Track in Spartan history.
Grant Pawlak can be reached at grant.pawlak@spartans.ut.edu.