Track?

[vu72]

I'm sure folks saw that the men finished in 4th place, which is what the coaching staff was hoping for.  We were in 3rd by 1 point heading into the final event (4x400).  As was mentioned above, there were lots of great performances including Valpo program records broken.  As a track team the guys were very excited and proud, and eager for the outdoor season.

I ended up watching some of it on ESPN3.  First time for that I believe.  The facility looked very nice.  Is that the sort of facility we envision for Valpo?

[momofalex]

The facility is WONDERFUL complete with a 300 meter track.  Youngstown has the only indoor track in the league which is why they host the indoor championships every  year.  They host many high school meets also so being from Ohio we'd been there many times.   http://ysusports.com/information/facilities/watts

[valpo64]

Kudos to Mark LaB for getting sports other than MBB on the right track.  I recall that some years ago in Indy when he was introduced to VU supporters in a reception prior to the Butler Men's BB game that he said that his objective was to put Valpo on the map in the Horizon League is all sports.  He has done a great job in upgrading VU sports.

[covufan]

Kudos to Mark LaB for getting sports other than MBB on the right track.  I recall that some years ago in Indy when he was introduced to VU supporters in a reception prior to the Butler Men's BB game that he said that his objective was to put Valpo on the map in the Horizon League is all sports.  He has done a great job in upgrading VU sports.

I second this.  As the facilities become better, I would expect that VU sports to be at or near the top of the HL. 

[valpo64]

Maybe with a successful post season run, ARC renovation can be put on a higher priority.  With a successful season and increased fan interest, plus a great potential for success at least over the next couple of years, this would be the time to get a campaign on the road??

[valporun]

When I was coaching, 62, if we hosted a meet at my high school, there was virtually little to no coaching going on because we had to keep a flow going to the meet. Hopefully Coach Moore can get enough former athletes to come in and help run the meet that he can just focus on coaching and enjoying hosting a home meet, and not have to do all the coordinating of activity.

[VULB#62]

When I was coaching, 62, if we hosted a meet at my high school, there was virtually little to no coaching going on because we had to keep a flow going to the meet. Hopefully Coach Moore can get enough former athletes to come in and help run the meet that he can just focus on coaching and enjoying hosting a home meet, and not have to do all the coordinating of activity.

That's what I was wondering about.  After the first one is in the books the remainder become easy.

[momofalex]

Keeping with the conversation that the program is getting stronger and competing in the HL, here's some tidbits from @ValpoSpeed on twitter:
- The 2015 Indoor season resulted in 20 Top-5 All Time marks & 5 school records for Men and Women!
- On the Men's side, 52 of the 59 points scored at the Conference meet will be returning next year!
- 36 of the Men's 59 points were scored by underclassmen (Fr./So.), which is 61% of the points!
- Of the 36 points scored by the Women, 50% (18) of the points will be returning next year!

I know I'm a newbie to the Valpo track program, but these stats are encouraging.

[covufan]

Keeping with the conversation that the program is getting stronger and competing in the HL, here's some tidbits from @ValpoSpeed on twitter:
- The 2015 Indoor season resulted in 20 Top-5 All Time marks & 5 school records for Men and Women!
- On the Men's side, 52 of the 59 points scored at the Conference meet will be returning next year!
- 36 of the Men's 59 points were scored by underclassmen (Fr./So.), which is 61% of the points!
- Of the 36 points scored by the Women, 50% (18) of the points will be returning next year!

I know I'm a newbie to the Valpo track program, but these stats are encouraging.

Thanks for keeping us updated!

[VU2624]

The facility is WONDERFUL complete with a 300 meter track.  Youngstown has the only indoor track in the league which is why they host the indoor championships every  year.  They host many high school meets also so being from Ohio we'd been there many times.   http://ysusports.com/information/facilities/watts

The WATTS facility at YSU is one of the best in the country. It is named, in part, after Jim Tressel from his coaching stint at YSU and very few schools have indoor facilities anywhere near the quality. I don't see there being any chance that Valpo committing the resources to build such a facility. Football would have to really decide to take a leap forward as the facility at YSU is used in part as an indoor practice facility for YSU football.

[VULB#62]

Actually, if the proposed field house has a 300 meter indoor track as a part of the plan, then the turf infield will be big enough to support indoor soccer, baseball/softball infields and plenty of space for indoor FB activities. They'll need a full time scheduler    If the track is shorter (200 meters)  baseball will probably be a bit squished, but the other sports could still use the infield.  Football need not go FCS scholarship, but they certainly will benefit enormously from a recruiting and off-season training program perspective.

BTW, (I know it's not specific to the track, but..... )  the football locker room in the ARC will be renovated this spring/summer.  So between the new weight training room in Kroencke and the upgraded locker room, FB is committed to the ARC region of the athletic campus for some time to come.  I'm told they have commissioned plans and are recruiting a majority donor.  As soon as those are in place additional donors will be recruited.  If we find the right QB early to replace Lehman's numbers and ball control, the outlook for the Fall is even brighter than we had the end of the season last Fall.