ECU track and field jumping over hurtles

After a disappointing first season in the American Athletic Conference, the East Carolina indoor track and field team will look to improve on its finish from last year as the 2016 season looms ahead.

Last season saw the men’s and women’s team finish in seventh and ninth place respectively in the AAC. It stands as a mark that head coach Curt Kraft is determined to improve on.

“Obviously finishing seventh and ninth was totally unacceptable and we were not happy about that at all, especially because we’re not used to that,” said Kraft. “It was very disappointing and the students-athletes knew that and the coaching staff knew that.”

After a dominating year in Conference USA during 2014 where the men’s team finished in third place and the women’s team finished in first place, the teams did not achieve the results they desired in the new conference.

Joining a new conference can present a team with many challenges, but for Kraft and his runners, the challenge was simply better competition.

“This is a good league with good teams. Absolutely, there is no question that it is harder, but that’s a good thing,” said Kraft. “I’m glad that we’re in this league and we belong in this league.”

Kraft knows that the high level of competition that his teams will face can only make them better.

Despite not placing on the podium as a whole, they boasted two individual event winners in the AAC Indoor Championships last season. Avion Jones placed first in the high jump and Cheyenne Hutchinson placed first in the 60-meter hurdles. The Pirates also produced 17 personal best times and 11 all-conference selections.

More individual success will be necessary for the team to place higher within the conference in the coming season and their near-bottom finish will serve as motivation.

“What everyone does as an individual affects the team,” said Kraft. “Everyone has to get focused mentally, prepare physically by working hard in practice and have a good attitude.”

With no indoor facility in the area for the Pirates to call home, all meets will be held on the road.

ECU will open their season on Jan. 15 at the Carolina Cup in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. This event will be followed by three meets held in Blacksburg, Virginia, throughout January and February.

The Pirates will compete in their second AAC Indoor Championships on Feb. 28-29 in Birmingham, Alabama. The season will officially wrap up as runners who qualify will travel to Birmingham again to compete in the NCAA Indoor Championships, which will take place on Mar. 18-19.

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