By Adam Hensley
The Big Ten has some of the nation’s best talent when it comes to men’s track and field.
From top to bottom, each team has athletes who can compete with the very best.
“The Big Ten has great universities, great coaching staffs, and elite-level track-and-field athletes in most, if not all the, programs,” Iowa head coach Layne Anderson said.
As the Hawkeyes look forward to their indoor season-opener on Jan. 9 in Champaign, Illinois, the other Big Ten teams are will kick off their indoor seasons.
One of those teams, Maryland, is still getting familiar to the Big Ten. The Terrapins did not compete in the 2015 indoor Big Ten meet, but it is ready to do so this year.
The only senior on the team, Dan Trettel, placed 17th in the 800 meters at the Big Ten outdoor meet last season.
Maryland possesses a young, untested roster; nine of the 23 athletes are freshmen.
Another team still adapting to the new conference is Rutgers.
Scarlet Knights head coach Mike Mulqueen realizes that his team is still new and adapting to life in the Big Ten, but it should be on the rise.
“Our goals are to keep trying to get better in the Big Ten. It is a very deep conference,” he said. “We made some progress during the outdoor season, and we want to keep improving. Aside from the conference, we want to keep sending athletes to the NCAA meet, indoors and outdoors.”
Rutgers’ Emeka Eze proved last season that he is one of, if not the best, jumpers in the conference. While he only placed eighth in the indoor conference meet, he went on to become the outdoor conference champion in the long jump. He was also an All-Big Ten first-teamer.
“With Eze, that win gave him confidence that he could compete at the Big Ten level,” Mulqueen said. “Hopefully, that, and staying healthy, can translate into another great year for him.”
Next in the Big Ten, Purdue scored 37 points in the 2015 indoor Big Ten Championships, placing 11th.
Matt McClintock placed third in the 5,000 meters, and this past cross- country season, he won the individual title. He wnts to keep the momentum going into the track-and-field season.
Boilermaker Chukwuebuka Enekwechi proved to be one of the top throwers in the conference, tossing for second place in both the shot put and weighted throws. The fifth-year senior is one of the leaders on the team.
Wisconsin finished one spot ahead of Boilermakers in the indoor conference meet.
One of its top runners, Ryan Davis, returns after a successful sophomore season. At the Big Ten meet, he placed fifth in the 400 meters with a time of 46.95.
The Badgers usually have a strong cross-country team, and the track distance squad does not stray from that.
Malachy Schrobilgen finished fourth and second in the 3,000 and 5,000 meters. As a freshman, Morgan McDonald placed second in the 3,000 meters.
Rounding out the bottom four, Michigan State finished ninth in the indoor conference championships last season. Caleb Rhynard, Chris Collier, and Nathan Burnand all finished in the top 19 in the 3,000 meters. All return this season.
Junior Tim Ehrhardt won the pole vault at 17-7.25. He also finished second in the heptathlon.
