UNR Women’s Track and Field Team Gets Into Higher Gear
As James Williams reports the Nevada women’s track and field team is training extra hard for the upcoming Mountain West Championships, starting May 9th at Fresno State.
On a recent midday Friday under a bright northern Nevada sun, a dozen student female athletes practiced sprinting and hurdling on the track around the football field at Mackay Stadium.
From team huddles to discussing where the athletes state of mind is to multiple practice runs, these athletes are dedicated in training at a high level.
Head Coach Shantel Twiggs has an expressive coaching style, yelling constant encouragements, while the athletes ask each other questions and advice, while also joking around.
With the season coming down to the wire, the Wolf Pack Women’s track and field team has competed in a long, backbreaking journey with ups and downs throughout the process.
This year has seen many accomplishments, starting with Halyn Senegal’s school record breaking performance at the University of Washington Preview Invitational Jan. 13th in the 600 meters relay, beating the Nevada school record by 2.81 seconds.
Senegal is a Louisiana native representing the Pack, who obtained four Indoor All-Mountain West honors during the 2022–23 and the 2023–24 seasons.
Senegal’s performance at the first invitational of the season set a high standard for all of her teammates, with the upcoming outdoor Mountain West Championships, starting May 9th at Fresno State, a new measuring stick for the course of this season.
It all begins in practice, according to Twiggs, who has been running the show for the Wolf Pack for the past 20 seasons. She has a special bond with the athletes that she trains multiple times a week.
“That’s what it’s all about,” said Twiggs. “You can put in the work every single day and it’s going to pay off.”
Twiggs brings out the energy at every practice and invitational, setting an example for what it is expected for all of her athletes.
Her accomplishments include coaching the Wolf Pack to three gold medals at the 2019 outdoor conference championships, while leading former student athlete Katherine Surin to the school’s all-time list in the 400 meter dash back in the 2014–15 indoor season.
Before warm-ups, Twiggs gathers all of the athletes into a group meeting talking about how they are feeling, what their thoughts are on the upcoming championships, and what she would like to see in that day’s practice.
The group is close knit even if coming from different parts of the country and globe.
Sophomore Annalies Kalma from Hamilton, New Zealand, is one of the athletes on the team from a different country.
”I was pretty nervous when I first came, from being from a different country,” said Kalma. “Just the university has been so great and welcoming along with the fellow athletes I’m competing with.”
Kalma ran personal records throughout the season as she ran the second fastest-time in school history at the Riverfront Invitational on Feb. 3rd with a 3:41:98 time in the indoor ‘A’ 4x400 meter relay, while recently securing second place at the Fresno State Invite on April 27th in the outdoor ‘A’ 4x400m relay with a time of 3:42:32.
Senior Sarah Marske expressed how inspiring it was seeing her teammates compete at a high level at recent meets, keeping the motivation going.
”I think everyone here just has a very positive vibe,” said Marske. “We are always making sure that if we have a long day of practice, that we’re saying ‘hey you got to stand and start walking around and just holding each other accountable.’”
The Arizona native ran a personal record of 12:33 in the 100 meter at the Hornet Invitational on March 16th in Sacramento, while impressing in the Nevada ‘A’ 4x400m relay with a stellar 3:45:04 time at the University of Washington Preview Invitational , securing her a second place finish and holding the third-fastest time in this event in school history.
Each athlete goes through their ups and downs, however they showed great improvement throughout this season.
As some of the athletes enter their final upcoming events, younger athletes are carrying on the spirit of the Pack and looking forward to making a name for themselves.
Student Athlete Leylah Diaz is a current freshman and she made her collegiate debut for the Pack at the Riverfront Invitational.
Diaz has made an impact early on in her career with the Pack, competing at two events at the outdoor Hornet Invitational in the 200 meters and the 400 meter hurdles event. Later in the season, she competed for the ‘B’ 4x400m relay and placed eighth with a time of 3:55:96 at the outdoor Fresno State Invitational.
Diaz spoke about the challenges about being a new athlete, while also giving it her all at every practice and invitational.
”I don’t think that I ran my event as much as I wanted to,” said Diaz. “I am for sure looking forward to next season and just knowing what I have to do better.”
“In my opinion, we are able to offer the athletes a top notch experience,” said Twiggs. “We feel like we have this little piece of pie where you can excel, you can do anything that you can set your mind to here at the University of Nevada, Reno.”
