New coach Tim Cawley’s team hits the track for the first time Friday
The mantra “respect is earned, not given” rings true for the Idaho men and women’s track and field teams heading into the indoor season.
Andrew Jenson | Argonaut
Idaho coach Tim Cawley and the Vandal track and field team starts the indoor season Friday at Nampa, Idaho. It is Cawley’s first season leading the Vandals.
The perennial WAC Champions start 2015 with a new coach, a new conference and not much respect as both Idaho teams come into the season ranked No. 8 out of 12 teams in the preseason coaches polls.
“I don’t feel pressure from it,” Idaho coach Tim Cawley said of Idaho’s winning track and field legacy. “The old conference was a different conference. This (the Big Sky) is a much tougher conference. The one thing I teach the kids is that it’s about the process, not always about the outcome.”
The Vandals head into their first indoor track meet under Cawley Friday at Nampa, Idaho, for the Ed Jacoby Invitational and Multi Events. Rival Boise State hosts the meet, but other than that Cawley said he doesn’t know or care what other teams will be competing.
“I’ve not even checked,” he said. “That’s how much I’m a part of the process. I’m literally just focusing on what we have. We’re going to go down, compete with your own self and mindset, hopefully feed off of the competition.”
Cawley replaces former Idaho coach Wayne Phipps as the head of Idaho track and field. Phipps left Idaho with a record 16 conference titles between men and women’s cross country, indoor track and field and outdoor track and field when he took the same position at Washington State last May.
FIle photo by Amrah Canul | Argonaut
Hurdler Jesse Villines clears a hurdle in practice during the 2014 indoor track
and field season. The Vandals start the 2015 indoor track and field Season
Friday at Nampa, Idaho. It is coach Tim Cawley’s first season at the helm.
“I think everyone was kind of skeptical at first because obviously we lost a really, really good coach,” senior pole vaulter Dylan Watts said. “But I know at least for me and everyone that I’ve talked to, we’ve been really, really impressed with both Cathleen and Tim (Cawley) and all the assistant coaches that have come on as well. They’ve done a really good job getting to know all their athletes and … going out of their way to try to do the best for everyone.”
While Cawley said he and his teams are always going to try to win, he said it might be some time before Idaho competes at the highest level in the Big Sky. Currently, he said the team is redshirting many of the athletes on the men’s side.
Still, Cawley and Watts said they are excited to finally get out on the track and field to compete.
“This is the fun part,” Cawley said. “This is when you’ve been putting all the work in and get a chance to see where people are at and how people compete. There’s a difference between what people can do in practice and where people are at in practices versus what they do in a meet situation.”
Stephan Wiebe can be reached at [email protected]