March 03, 2016

Hey Badger Fans!

Well, that’s a wrap for the Indoor Big Ten season! We finished it up this past weekend at the Spire Institute in Geneva, Ohio. The men’s side finished second and the women’s team ended in eighth. Although we would have liked to finish higher, I am very proud of my teammates. We came with a pretty small squad and managed to pick up a few points here and there where we were not supposed to. We are also a fairly young team so this was a great experience-building event for us.

As you can see in the photo above, whenever we travel, we take more than just athletes and coaches with us. We take along our trainers; massage therapists, media personnel and other administrative people. Our track program is fortunate to have a trainer for squad, though they both help everyone interchangeably. The trainers are whom we see on a day-to-day basis for any injury or ailment we have and with a team as large as ours they always stay extremely busy, especially during this time of year. When we travel, they essentially bring along a mobile training room in their luggage. I am always amazed at the huge array of products they can fit in their bags for us to use if necessary. I got sick last year at NCAA Indoor Nationals and the women’s team trainer, Alyson, was with us and she nursed me back to help with all the things she brought because I had to compete later that day.

It is also very rare for us if we do not travel with a massage therapist. They travel with their massage tables and post sign up sheets outside their hotel doors. I lucked out on this last trip because our massage therapist was right across the hall from my room so I did not have to walk far at all. Monday through Thursday when we are home, we have the opportunity to sign up for fifteen-minute massage spots in the evenings at Camp Randall. They are an incredible resource and help speed up recovery as well as to just make you feel better when you are super sore from a lift or practice. I have to say, getting a massage is one of my favorite things about being an athlete, even though the deep tissue ones can be pretty painful at the time.

This weekend is an off weekend as those who are heading to NCAA Indoor Nationals train and prepare for that competition the following weekend. On the women’s side Georgia Ellenwood has qualified in the pentathlon and I have qualified in the shot put and weight throw. The men are sending Morgan McDonald and Zachary Ziemk in the heptathlon.

Kelsey Card