Trey Perry - Feb 28, 2018
Coach Ed Fye celebrates as both the men and women's indoor teams earned GPAC Championships.
Courtesy Photo | Doaneline
With conference titles under their belts, the Doane men’s and women’s track teams have their eyes set on nationals.
Ben Berreckman, senior and a captain for the men’s team, said both teams overachieved at the Great Plains Athletic Conference meet on Feb. 16 and 17. The women’s team won first place by over 30 points and the men’s team captured its title by over 117 points.
“We had a lot of people who stepped up,” senior Emily Harsin said.
Ed Fye, head track and field coach, said he credited the team’s success to the number of dual-threat athletes the team had and the team being able to limit mistakes.
Harsin, one of the captains for the women’s team, qualified for the national meet in both the 400-meter dash and the 4x400 meter relay.
This will be Harsin’s fourth time going to nationals and she said it felt much different than previous years.
“Freshman year, I was scared to death,” Harsin said. “Now, I feel like I have a lot more experience and I’m not as overwhelmed going into it.”
Fye said around 18 men and 17 women would be taking the trip to the nationals out of 97 athletes that competed at the GPAC championship. Those 35 men and women are all athletes that have hit the automatic qualifying mark for indoor nationals.
Both teams have high rankings going into nationals and Berreckman said they have their eyes set on a top-four trophy, a feat that he said hasn’t happened since he’s been at Doane. However, for Berreckman, his four years on the Doane track team have included much more than just chases for awards.
“This Doane track program has changed my life,” Berreckman said. “The friendships on this team I have created are some of the most meaningful ones I’ve ever had throughout my life so far.”
As a team captain, Berreckman said he wanted to take a different kind of approach to nationals than previous years. He said in the past, the team has had more of an individual focus at the national meet and this year, he wanted to get the team to focus more on the team as a whole.
Additionally, with the recent passing of legendary Doane track coach, Fred Beile, Berreckman said the team has something bigger to compete for.
“I think we have a lot to compete for this year, especially Fred,” Berreckman said. “If we do bring back a trophy, it will be because he’ll be fresh in our minds.”