The Doane track teams are ready and set for the NAIA indoor national meet.
Thirty-eight Doane athletes qualified for the national meet and are in Johnson City Tenn. ready to compete today.
Head track coach Ed Fye said the team and individual goals for the meet had been set.
“The team goal is important,” he said. “If the individuals take care of themselves the team points will come around for us.”
Senior Deejay Silcott, who is competing in the 60-meter and 200-meter dash, said her goal was to come back as an All-American and do what was best for the team.
“I know we have a chance to place high,” she said. “Everyone just needs to go out and do what we know we can do.”
Senior Sufian Kimo, who is running the 1200-meter leg of the distance medley relay, has the main goal to score points for the team.
“Our relay team should make finals and score points,” Kimo said. “If a lot of people on the team make finals, anything can happen with our team place.”
Last season both teams cracked the top twenty. The women placed No. 19 and the men took No. 8 at the national meet.
This year, Doane’s previous meet was the GPAC conference championships.
At the championships the Doane men placed No. 1 as a team and the Doane women placed No. 2.
Fye said the competition in the conference prepared the team for nationals.
“We’re at a national level every meet,” Fye said. “They (the athletes) should feel like it’s just another meet when we get there.”
Silcott said the competition level was much higher at the national meet.
“All the athletes are good and should probably be running for D1 schools, not NAIA,” Silcott said.
Kimo also said the competition was higher at this meet, but it motivated the team.
“We won’t back down once we are on the track,” Kimo said. “We’re going out there to win, just like everyone else.”
Silcott said if the Doane teams do well in Tenn., it will say a lot for the all athletes at Doane.
“If we do well at nationals it proves to people Doane is not just a small school in Crete, Neb.”
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