The 2016 season saw the Point Loma track and field team bring wind back into the sails of the program. The Sea Lions had their best season at the NCAA Division II level, with multiple women earning NCAA provisional qualifying standards and one earning a trip to the National Championships. Point Loma’s head coach Jerry Arvin brought in another talented recruiting class to build on the momentum created last season. Practice
While many associate track and field as a spring sport, it is truly a year-round commitment for the student-athletes which began training for the season back in September. After a long fall, PLNU took the track again following the Christmas break and had to deal with weather conditions not usually seen in southern California, but coach Arvin is still very excited by the progress he has seen. “We have missed more days this year than any other year since I’ve been here,” said Arvin. “We have had a lot of rainy days which is uncommon so from that stand point it has caused us to rearrange our workouts.
“Overall I’m pleased with the team and what they have been able to do physically,” continued Arvin. “Given the conditions that are bad for us, but pretty minor for most other track teams around the United States, we still have had great time and been able to work hard when we are out there.” The schedule
The weather has already affected the Sea Lions’ schedule as rain canceled their opening meet, the Pomona-Pitzer All Comers Meet, but PLNU still has a full slate of competitions lined up for the 2017 season. Point Loma will host its annual two meets, the Ross and Sharon Irwin Collegiate Scoring Meet (March 18) and the PLNU Invitational (March 25), in addition to competing three times at UCSD and four other times in southern California. Additionally, Point Loma will also host the PacWest Outdoor Championships on April 28-29 at the PLNU Track and Field. “I see a lot of good meets with talented student-athletes,” said Arvin. “All of the places where we will be competing have good track facilities. All in all, I think our schedule is good because we will be able to put the student-athletes in the meets at a level of their competition rather than it being under or over their heads. I think the main thing we have considered as we put together our schedule is how do we make it not an elite meet but also challenge our student-athletes.” Strengths
With the returners and the incoming recruits, PLNU is starting to see areas of strength emerge. The Sea Lions are expected to be strong in the hurdles, distance races and the pole vault. There are also a number of question marks surrounding the team, but coach Arvin is very optimistic.
“We will follow up on our good cross country season with our distance runners going strong even though we are in the region that has the strongest distance runners,” Arvin explained. “We still will have to work hard to get to the national meet along with those other schools. It’s no longer enough to be good in your region but now you have to be one of the top 20 competitors in the United States. The distance runners will definitely be a strength of the team.
“I believe our pole vaulter Celine Lum is going to be strong and help us,” added Arvin. “I think our 400m hurdlers are going to be good this year, just like they were a strength for the team last year at conference. We have added a couple new girls who can run hurdles and I think we will be a lot better at relays this year.
“We have added three or four more long triple jumpers and a few more high jumpers so we are still trying to decide if we will have any multi-events people,” he continued. “It has been a few years since we have had that but it has always been one of the strengths of our team. Overall we will have more depth and we have increased the size of the team by 11. We are going to find out quickly how well they can do but I really believe that we are going to be more of a force in every event.” Weaknesses
The recruiting class helped sure up some areas the Sea Lions were lacking in last season, but there is still more work to do to turn this team into one well-rounded enough to compete to compete for a conference championship.
“We are young so we have to wait and see how they mature as over the next couple of years,” explained Arvin. “If we had a really great hurdler or a really good thrower then we’d be an awesome team but that’s just not the case, but what the team is showing in practice is really good.” “We are not a strong sprint team, although we have done well in that event in the past,” said Arvin. “Year after year we have been in nationals but individually we don’t get people into the 100m and 200m at that level. The sprinters are an area we have made significant gain in. Our jumpers we will have to wait and see what level they are at. Across the board our short hurdles are an area which we will focus on and improve. Goals
Coach Arvin knows this is a process to rebuild the program from where it was a few years ago, to getting it back to one that consistently competes for the PacWest Championship, and he has laid out goals for his team to take those steps of rebuilding. “Our main focus is to perform at our highest level at the conference meet because that involves the whole team,” Arvin said. “It will be a tough fight but our goal is to overall do better this year than we did last year. Past that into the national championship level its more about the individuals. What we want to do is set the goal to be good at the conference. If we have the possibility to be the third-best team at conference then we want to be the third-best team but if we are good enough to win it, then we want to win. That level is unknown until we get closer to that meet.
“Our primary goals are to get the team to do the best they can at conference and then from there we will get the individuals that have the talent to make it to nationals all the way there,” he added. “We have to reflect on that and look at which events a person can qualify for. Celine will obviously do pole vault and Marissa will obviously do steeple but someone like Alex (Hernandez) or Brianna (Bartello) are a little harder to decide for. We have to make sure to focus on which events our athletes have the capability to qualify for rather than limiting them to two to three events.” Keys
Many times track and field is thought of as an individual sport, but coach Arvin emphasizes the team aspect. He knows it is critical to the success of his team that the women know they are not out there competing all alone, but instead are competing for their teammates and the university. “You get inspired by your teammates and that was evident last year at our 5k that we ran at conference with Marissa and Alex,” Arvin explained. “The team was really supportive there and in our 400m hurdles. Janie (Unkefer), Erin (Beezhold) were all in that race and the whole team was pushing them. We want our team to react to what their teammates are doing at the current time instead of looking back on it later. When you have five girls pole vaulting but 15 girls cheering them on, it really pushes our student-athletes and engages the whole team. That is one thing that is unique to track because it’s more of an individual sport with team components.
“The girls need to impact more than just their single event but rather they can impact their entire team,” he said. “The student-athletes themselves understand what their teammates are going through and the importance of what they are doing. They need to encourage each other to do well so the team does well. The team depends on individuals doing well although the team doesn’t depend on one individual. When it’s their time they need to focus on themselves but until then, it isn’t about them.” The PacWest Championships
For the second time in five years, PLNU will be the site of the PacWest Track & Field Championships. Point Loma also hosted the event in 2013. Coach Arvin is excited for the opportunity to show off the campus, but also to give his team their best opportunity to compete at their highest level.
“You don’t want to disappoint the people competing in the meet or anyone else,” said Arvin. “We want to give them a really good opportunity on a fantastic facility to perform to their best. We want the visiting teams to enjoy it and think it’s a great meet. Since they want to come we want to give them a reason to come back. We have teams that return every year and love it. If they didn’t love it, they wouldn’t come back. When we make mistakes we get called on it. We take pride in hosting a meet and I want everyone who comes here to have a good experience.” Conclusion
This is the most talented team coach Arvin and the Sea Lions have had at the NCAA Division II level. Point Loma is starting to become a much more well-rounded team and the skill-level has continued to rise the past couple seasons, giving PLNU a great opportunity to put even more momentum into the sails of the future of this program.