Men’s hurdles started off the season ranked 11th in Division-II and have been able to keep up that ranking, as they look ahead to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Championships. 

Graduate hurdler Austin Albertin gives credit to hurdler’s coach Brittany Aanstad for getting them prepared for every race.

“Our coach, we represent her, it’s her philosophy and her mindset, that is why we are doing what we are doing,” Albertin said. “You gotta be willing to go through that pain and that suffering for that short amount of time to be able to be on the top.”

Freshman hurdler Aiden Wise said Aanstad pushes them physically but also mentally in practice.

“We all want to be great,” Wise said. “Finishing the workout is really all that matters. It may be sloppy, which it will be sloppy at the end, but teaching yourself to finish the workout and finish the race is what’s important.” 

Their mindset of finishing the workouts and the race is why they have been so successful this season and are in the position to look ahead to the conference championships later next month. 

“You got to compete one day, come back the next day and be able to do it,” Albertin said. “That’s what our program makes us. When you get in those blocks, when it comes to conference time or when you’re at nationals and that gun goes silent, the only thing in your head is ‘I’m meant to be here.’”

Albertin said this was the year the team was going to work on their foundation. 

“We’re going to be the people to do it, it’s going to suck, it’s going to be hard and it’s going to be a lot of ups and downs,” Albertin said. “We got to be those guys to put the first nail in.” 

Even when the weather wasn’t good, the team still had to make sure the foundation was there for when spring season started. 

“During the winter, there’d be snow on the track. Either we would find ways to run around town or just run on the track,” Wise said. 

Albertin said he believes the sky’s the limit for the men’s hurdle team and sees how much potential this team has for the future. 

“I am so glad I got to compete another year with them and coach,” Albertin said. “These guys are freshmen, that is what I am so excited [about] … They’re only going to get stronger, they’re only going to get smarter, they’re only going to get faster.”