Track team heads to New York for Armory Collegiate Invitational
The bright lights of New York will be fixed on the Gamecocks this weekend as the track and field team competes against more than 100 universities in the Armory Collegiate Invitational.
As the team prepares to contend with tough competition from across the country, they are taking this week to mentally prepare themselves for the invitational.
“Training is the hard part, but when you line up, you have to be ready mentally,” sprinter Chris Royster said. “I’m staying relaxed. I’m thinking about the race and being calm and keeping myself focused on what needs to be done.”
After a long indoor track season, this meet is the next to last before the SEC championships, and the team has focused more on ice baths and stretching, restoring their bodies to get ready for three tough contests.
Royster said the restoration process is going to help him and the team perform well in the meet.
“Last week I took off from my training to relax and rest my body, so now I’ll be more prepared going into this meet,” Royster said. “We’re going to do real well, especially on the 4-by-4. That’s a big part of the meet that we are trying to run to set ourselves up for nationals.”
The meet hosts more than 100 teams from around the country, including many teams in the SEC and ACC that compete at a high level, according to coach James Daniels.
“It prepares us simply because of the number of rounds we get to run, and No. 2 because the competition will be a step up from the last week,” Daniels said. “Each week, we want to get better against the competition, so we’re running against a lot of schools that are part of the SEC, ACC and mid-level schools that are good at their particular events. So this meet is going to give our team the opportunity to step their game up and compete at a higher level.”
Royster said he loves this meet because the trip up to New York means the team will get to shop and enjoy the fun atmosphere. If the team does well, they could be returning to campus with more than souvenirs.
Because the Gamecocks are using this meet to springboard into their next two meets — the Tyson invitational and the SEC championships — success this weekend could give them momentum through the next few weeks.
“I expect us to be quite successful,” Daniels said. “The athletes are very excited to compete in New York, and they know that this meet is important.”
Daniels said he believes a good showing in New York could vault the team into future meets that could include a trip to New Mexico for the national championships.
“I believe we are going to go to nationals. We have a number of people that are going to qualify for nationals,” Daniels said. “You only get 16 spots, and I believe we are going to be in those spots. They believe it. So we’re keeping them level-headed and focusing on one meet at a time and not letting them get ahead of themselves in their thinking.”