As fall sports have started to come to an end, the Bombers have been getting a kick-start on their training for the 2023–24 indoor track and field season. After losing key athletes such as pentathlete Logan Bruce ’23 and pole vaulter Megan Matheny ’23, the team must adjust to the new team dynamic.
The team also said goodbye to four pole vaulters, three of which competed and scored points at the National Championship meet. After a successful recruitment year last year, head coach Jennifer Potter said over half of the roster is made of first-year students.
“Almost all of them were recruited,” Potter said. “I know what they did in high school athletically, but we’ll have to wait and see. As far as their work ethic, confidence and drive, I’m excited.”
On top of the new wave of first-year students, there are also several new upperclassman athletes who have either walked on while attending the college or transferred into the track and field program. In fact, junior Lily Seyfert joined the team within the last year after transferring from the University of Connecticut. Seyfert is a thrower on the team and participates in five events including shot put, discus, weight throw, hammer throw and javelin throw.
“Last season was only my second season of track,” Seyfert said. “It was difficult learning four new events, especially when throwing is so technical.”
Learning that many new skills so quickly proved to be frustrating at times for Seyfert. However, Potter has her own philosophy to combat frustration and to keep moving forward. Seyfert said Potter believes in staying positive and not letting frustration be the reason that progress slows — the mindset is what helped inspire Seyfert to adapt and push on.
“Looking up to the seniors last year and seeing them always bounce back from a hardship helped me develop that mindset,” Seyfert said. “Learning to stay positive and avoiding getting too upset when something isn’t working is the biggest lesson I’ve learned here.”
Despite all the changes, Potter calls this new team a breath of fresh air. She said she feels that having a young group as motivated and eager as her’s will guarantee them a strong base to begin building upon. This season’s success is especially important to Potter after losing the Liberty League championship last year.
For the first time in her over 20 years coaching at the college, Potter watched her athletes lose both the indoor and outdoor Liberty League titles to the University of Rochester last year. The competition was so tight, in fact, that the Bombers only lost the 2022–23 indoor title by half a point.
“Rochester is very strong, it’s close every time,” Potter said. “They’re legit and we gave them a run. We didn’t lose to a bad team, we lost to a good team, and by only half a point”
Not only do the women crave redemption at the Liberty Leagues, but they’ve also been inspired by one another and their graduated teammates, as the program has started to make a name for itself on the national level.
“Obviously, winning the Liberty Leagues for both indoor and outdoor seasons is a goal,” Seyfert said. “But, at the end of the day, we all compete because we want to win that National Championship.”
For the first time in years, the NCAA has adjusted its rules on how often a team can gather to practice. Because of this rule, the coaches were able to be present for the pre-season practice they would have to steer clear of in years past. Although official practice started on Oct. 2, the Bombers still met most days out of the school week for preseason practice and lift sessions. Potter feels that the coaching staff’s presence has made a positive impact on the team before the season has even kicked off.
Potter, although confident in her women and in their training, cannot say for certain how the season will go or who will have the most exciting performances. However, with so many fresh faces and a team spirit based on togetherness and redemption, she said there can be several athletes with performances that demand attention.
Potter has maintained a consistent and effective workout schedule that forces the athletes to push themselves, then take the proper steps to avoid injury and to continue improving. Sophomore distance runner Kyla Eisman said she learned the effectiveness of Potter’s coaching quickly and has been inspired by the work ethic she instills in her athletes.
“I’ve learned that being a part of a track and field team is very special,” Eisman said. “Coach Potter always says ‘It really does take a village’ in order to compete at the high level that we do and to hold each other accountable each day in and out.”
Although a number of invitationals and relays stand between the team and the Liberty League championship, it is clear that all of the intense work and training the athletes are doing now is in preparation for making it to the championship.
“We have a lot of exciting meets this season, including the Greg Page Relays at Cornell and a few home meets here at Ithaca which are always very fun,” Eisman said. “But our main focus will be on the Liberty League Championship at St. Lawrence on February 23 and 24.”
On Dec. 2, the Bombers will compete at the Greg Page Relays at Cornell University for their first meet. Potter says that this meet is to get the women used to the atmosphere of competition and to give them the last little spark of adrenaline before diving deep into the season.
“We’ll have them put on their uniforms in December at Cornell and then we’ll continue to work from there,” Potter said. “I’m sure they’ll shine.”
