The Road Ahead for Gator Women’s Track & Field

The University of Florida’s women’s track and field team is in the throws of preparing for its 2015 season. After finishing last season at the 2014 SEC Indoor Championship, the Gators are hungry for January to come and for what this next season will bring them. This is especially true for sophomore hurdler Ryann McEnany, who started out last year injured and didn’t begin competing until six weeks into the season.

“I had really bad shin splints and they were almost stress fractures, and that put me six weeks behind my training group and six weeks behind in our hurdle practice so it was really a set back for me – along with just being a freshman and having to go through all those new changes,” McEnany said.

Despite the setbacks McEnany faced in the 2014 season, she is ready to attack the 2015 season with more vigor than ever.

“This year I’m healthy and I’m faster. My starts have gotten better and I’m quicker on top of the hurdle so I’m really excited for this season.”

And she’s not the only one looking forward to an exciting new season. Senior Loreal Curtis is quick to give credit to the coaching staff and says she is excited to watch the new talent contribute to the team’s success this year.

“Even though we lost great talent, we also gained a bunch – so we haven’t really lost anything. I’m actually really excited to see what this year brings for our team,” Curtis said.

Back during her first season with the Gators, Curtis’ 4×400 meter relay team finished fourth at the NCAA Outdoor Championships and third at Indoor Nationals. Transitioning from the indoor season to the outdoor season can sometimes be a challenge, but Curtis says that the team is used to practicing outdoors while competing in their indoor season. The Gators are looking to defend their SEC Indoor title, as well as make a name for themselves in Outdoor.

“We have won SEC Indoor but we have lost other titles, and this only makes us hungrier to become a better team. We hope to win many more titles this year.”

The Gators first meet of the 2015 season will be January 23rd at the University of Kentucky. This will also mark the start of their indoor season, and another chance to earn that top spot.