By Adam Hensley
Hailed by some to be the best track and field conference in the country, the Big Ten will kick off its outdoor championships on Friday, and the competition couldn’t be any tighter.
Coming into the conference meet, the Big Ten has two teams in the top 25 and eight in the top 50.
Penn State enters the weekend at No. 15 in the nation and is the No. 1 team in the Mid-Atlantic Region.
With a large group of athletes traveling to Lincoln, Nebraska, head coach John Gondak noted the key to a successful meet is that the Nittany Lions trust his system — something they’ve done.
“We need [our athletes] to be bought into competing for Penn State and helping our program be the best it can be,” Gondak said. “The focus is as it will always be — to prepare our team to be ready to compete at the highest level this weekend.”
The Nittany Lions are one of the most well-rounded teams in the country, but this is often overlooked due to do-it all runner Brannon Kidder.
Kidder leads the conference in the 1,500 meters and also ranks second in the 800 meters.
“Brannon has been a great leader for us both with how he attacks practice and how he competes in his races,” Gondak said. “It is very motivational for our athletes to watch Brannon compete, and they learn how to be the best they can be by the routines he leads at practice.”
Penn State may have one of the best individual athletes in the conference, but Rutgers possesses one of the best duos.
Izaiah Brown and Jermaine Griffith are first and second in the conference in the 400 meters.
“They have gotten into some fast races which helped them compete at a high level and run fast times,” Scarlet Knight head coach Michael Mulqueen said. “Having them train together is a plus, too.”
This weekend will mark Rutgers’ second time competing in the Big Ten meet, but Mulqueen believes his team has adjusted well in one of the nation’s top conferences.
“It is a great track and field league,” he said. “With this only being our second year in the league, we are trying to move up in the rankings as our team gets more experience competing in such a competitive conference.”
While Penn State will be one of the teams in the spotlight at the Big Ten meet, Nebraska plans on doing its best to make sure it keeps the home crowd excited.
The Cornhuskers rank atop the Midwest region, which they share with the Hawkeyes.
The two teams remain neck-and-neck in the 4×100 and 4×400 relays. Nebraska sits behind Iowa in the 400-meter relay but leads the conference in the 1,600-meter relay (Iowa is second).
“Those are two of many of the events that our team needs to do well in in order to reach our goal in the meet,” head coach Gary Pepin said. “We can’t control Iowa; we need to take care of our own business.”
The Cornhuskers battled injuries throughout the season, and that could play a factor, especially in the relays.
“We haven’t been able to develop consistency with our relays due to so many nagging injuries,” Pepin said. “We are hoping to have most of the sprint group back going into the championship season.”