New coach, new athletes, same mentality. The Western Mustangs track and field teams are ranked number two (Women’s) and three (Men’s) in the country just a year after winning the U Sports titles. “Last year was absolutely, undoubtedly a once in a lifetime team,” said Caroline Ehrhardt, the new head coach of the Mustangs track teams. “That’s something we all kind of had to wrap our heads around heading into this season that last year was not the norm.” The Mustangs are no longer the hunters, but the hunted. “I think we have a lot of momentum coming into the OUAs (Championships),” said Morgan Reevie, a Mustangs co-captain. “I am like ecstatic and I can’t keep my focus on anything else other than the team and what we have coming up.” The OUA Championship is at York University on Feb.19 to 21.This team lost some individual superstars but did have a “great recruiting class” and replaced the graduates with rookies like Jackson MacKay, a heptathlete who broke the U Sports record in his first ever meet. “Honestly, I cannot wait for York and to do another hep (heptathlon) if I end up doing it,” said MacKay. “I’m super excited and I honestly can’t wait for that to come.” The changes around campus aren’t just with a new crop of athletes. They have a new boss at the helm after Vickie Croley retired after last year’s championship double. Ehrhardt has moved from assistant to head coach.The 10-time Canadian Triple Jumper worked with Croley for the past four years before securing the main job. “My experience in the sport has, very much come in clutch through this transition,” said Ehrhardt, who has her three-time National Champion husband Taylor helping her this year. “Vickie told me a few years ago, you take little pieces away from every coach that you’ve ever worked with. I couldn’t have asked for a more seamless experience, like having already been on the coaching staff for the past four seasons, and just always having Vickie as a mentor and having her on standby on the phone just to be able to call with any questions.” At the beginning of the season, Reevie and other athletes admit to feeling some pressure of being a defending champion. However, that went away quickly under the new regime. “I think our focus was our team culture and bringing the young ones in to really just feel like a family,” said Reevie. “I think that’s where a lot of our success comes, I wouldn’t ask for a different group to be doing these OUAs.” And despite losing some heavy hitters, this team is rebuilding quickly. The national rankings indicate they are still a powerhouse. “I would say we’re having an even better recruiting year this year,” said Ehrhardt. “In the next two years, it’s going to be a really exciting time. We’re seeing some of our younger cohort, really step up and fill those spots and we won’t be graduating a lot of athletes this year. There’s exciting times to come.”
