Allen Community College’s indoor track season will offer unprecedented depth, coach Vince DeGrado said. GABBY RUIZ, is the lone returning female who scored points at last year’s national competition.
For the first time in recent memory, the men’s team is maxed out, with every available roster spot taken.
“This men’s team is my deepest and most talented group I’ve had,” DeGrado said. “They have the potential to really exploit the mid-distance and distance events.”
The indoor squad opened its season last week in Johnson County and will travel to the Iowa State Open on Friday.
The track season offers events for Allen on a weekly basis through the Region VI/conference indoor championships Feb. 15 and the NJCAA Indoor National Championships March 1 and 2.
The men’s squad offers a talented mixture of returners and newcomers.
Garrett Colglazier, the school record holder in the mile and 800 meters, returns, as do Evan Adams and Chris Donald, who redshirted in 2012.
“Garrett gained some valuable experience from last year’s team,” DeGrado said. “Evan will be a major factor in the middle distance events. Chris will be a major factor for us nationally for both his sprints and his hurdling abilities.”
Twenty-three newcomers are joining the 2013 squad.
“To say we are loaded is an understatement,” DeGrado said.
Bruce Barclay already has shown he will be among the top hurdlers in the Jayhawk Conference or Region VI.
Rikcardo Bailey and Antonio Duncan highlight a talented crop of a 200-meter and 400-meter dash class looking to reset school records and earn top national finishes.
Dakota Parker, a transfer student out of South Dakota, will focus on middle distances.
“I’m really excited to work with Dakota,” DeGrado said. “He already comes in with a remarkable resume, so I expect him to compete well at nationals.”
Ryan Pulsifer, a redshirt last year, also will thrive at distance running. He and Brock Artis, Jacob Spence and Patrick Rachford all have worked hard to prepare for the upcoming season at long-distance running events, DeGrado said.
“They’ve really impressed me so far with how hard they’ve been training,” DeGrado said.
Michael Burns and Jethro St. Hubert will handle jumping events “and be major point scorers for us,” DeGrado said.
“Our men’s team has the potential to win a conference and regional title,” DeGrado said. “Along with that, our goal is to be a top-10 team nationally. We have a lot of quality and quantity that will allow us to spread out and score a lot of points.”
“She is very focused this year, and we’re going to train her differently for the indoor season,” DeGrado said.
Ruiz will not make her first appearance of the season until early February as she recovers from a school record-breaking half-marathon performance last fall.
Danae McGee, a stalwart on the women’s cross country team, should find herself among the favorites for a conference or regional title in the 400-meter dash.
“On the women’s side, we’re still working on building up our numbers,” DeGrado said, although what Allen lacks in quantity, it makes up for with quality athletes. “Our focus will be on the national championships.”
2013 ACC
Indoor Track Season
Friday — Iowa State Open
Jan. 25 — Kansas Jayhawks
Feb. 1-2 — Missouri Southern
Feb. 8 — Iowa State Classic
Feb. 15 — Region VI/Conference Indoor Championships
March 1-2 —NJCAA Indoor National Championships
ACC ready for storybook indoor track season
