Doughty and others travel to Tennessee and Western Kentucky for competition
This weekend will be another busy one for the women’s track and field team with competition both in and out of Michigan.
On Friday, a number of athletes will be competing at Tennessee and on Saturday the team will be sending some athletes to Western Kentucky University to compete.
Among these athletes competing will be sophomore hurdler Bridget Doughty. Doughty qualified for the Mid-American Conference championships last weekend after finishing in the women’s 400m hurdles with a mark of 1:01.
“I have to be really aggressive in my race and I’d like to break a minute,” Doughty said. “We’ll have much better weather than here and the competition will be tough, but I would like to have a (personal record) this weekend.”
Despite not having a full squad in one location, Doughty claims that the athletes accompanying her in Tennessee and Kentucky are skilled and they will not be in any sort of disadvantage leading into the weekend.
“We have a pretty good group going, so we will be supporting each other within that group,” Doughty said. “We need to be focused, but I don’t think (not having a full squad) will impact us.”
Having already qualified for MACs last weekend, some would think that would be pressure to succeed and have good marks once again. It can be difficult to maintain a competitive edge after doing so well just a week prior, but Doughty remains calm and tried to not let it affect her performance.
“I never really feel pressure,” Doughty said. “I just try to run my best, regardless of the situation and I’m just excited to see what I can do after a long time training.”
Training is something that Doughty knows all too well and she has been working hard with her fellow runners in order to get ready for the meets over the weekend.
“I’ve been focusing a lot on technical things in practice and have been trying to get those down,” Doughty said. “I’ve had great workouts with Ravyn (Baxter) recently, so I’m excited about that and I’m excited to see what see can do as well.”
Doughty, along with the rest of the women’s track and field team, are getting their final workouts in for what is turning out to be an eventful weekend of competition.
