The season is still young for the ADM girls track team, which will compete in its third indoor track meet of the 2014 season tomorrow.

With two meets’ worth of performances to evaluate in advance of the girls’ trip to Pella, Coach Bart Mueller says he likes the fact many of his girls’ are improving and ahead of the pace they were on at this time a year ago.

“You’re just not going to pick up where you left off last year.  I don’t think any of the girls on any teams are doing that right now.  Most of them are just getting back to where they were at the end of the season.”

One of Mueller’s athletes that is currently on a nice trajectory is Madi Bertman, who excels in the long jump.  Bertman most recently placed 9th at the ISU Girls High School Classic with a jump of 15’4.25”.

“That (jump) was pretty fortunate.  Not being outside it is tough to work on those long jump steps–we had to do it in the hallway in the school.  But it worked out really well because the distance that we used was about right on the mark–two out of her three jumps were right on the mark.  So, that was good and she can now jump with some confidence.”

Mueller says Bertman’s ultimate goal is to routinely break the 16-foot mark in the long jump this season.  16 feet exactly was Bertman’s longest jump a season ago, good for the fourth best mark in the Raccoon River Conference.

Bertman and the rest of the ADM track girls begin a day-long meet at Central College tomorrow at 10am.