As the Baker University track and field teams prepare for the Baker Relays Friday, they are facing a few obstacles.

Weather conditions and spring break affected practice time, and due to predicted inclement weather, the Baker Relays were moved from Saturday to Friday.

Spring break also fell at the beginning of the outdoor season, hindering the Wildcats from practicing together.  

However, head coach Zach Kindler sees the break as a time “where we can rejuvenate, refresh and then come back physically and mentally ready to go for the outdoor season.”

Senior thrower Aubree Gustin, who also played basketball for Baker, will compete in the Baker Relays with only one week of practice before and after spring break.

“I’m kind of nervous,” Gustin said. “I’ve only actually thrown, like, once so far.”

Gustin will look to improve on her record-setting 241.89-meter javelin throw from the 2010 Baker Relays.

The Wildcats have won the Baker Relays every year that Kindler has been coaching at Baker, and he hopes the team will continue that tradition.

“We have always had some pretty good marks at the beginning of the season with our athletes,” Kindler said. “So, it’s nice to be at home to showcase our abilities to Baker students and Baker fans.”

Kindler expects some of the Wildcats to do “pretty exciting things” at the Baker Relays and that the eight indoor national qualifiers will continue to do well.

Sophomore Jeremy Gathright placed 11th in the triple jump at the NAIA Indoor Track and Field Championship, but hopes to continue improving.

“I didn’t perform like I wanted to,” Gathright said. “So, I have the motivation and (I am) ready (to) work harder in order to perform like I want to at outdoor nationals.”

Kindler said track and field is primarily an outdoor sport, and he encourages his teams to perform better during the outdoor season.

“Indoor, we were excited (about) what happened,” Kindler said, “but we will definitely see better results outdoor.”

Kindler said the HAAC is one of the top track and field conferences in the nation, but his goal is for both the men and women’s teams to win the HAAC  this season.

The Baker Relays begin at 12:30 p.m. Friday and the Wildcats next meet will be the Friends University Invitational  April 2.

The meet will begin with the men and women’s 4×800 relay for the track events and the women’s hammer throw for the field events.

The score of the men and women’s teams will be combined to result in a final team score for each team.