The Ithaca College men's track and field team is preparing for its outdoor season following the indoor Liberty League Championships on February 27 and 28. With a new outdoor track opened in October 2025, athletes anticipate a smoother transition and higher stakes in the spring competitions. Coach Stargell Williams aims for a podium finish at the conference championships.
The Bombers' spring track and field season begins just weeks after their indoor efforts, marking a shift to outdoor competitions that run from March through May. This year, the team benefits from the newly unveiled Egan Family Track and Field Complex, enhancing their training and performance potential.
Junior sprinter Max Boreland welcomes the change from indoor to outdoor tracks. “I feel like it’s an easy transition for me because indoors is much more harder on my body,” Boreland said. “The indoor track is hard to run on, especially competing wise. … It’s [outdoor track] less impactful on the legs instead of running indoors. I run curves indoor, which hurts my shin.”
Senior multi-event athlete Noah McKibben has adjusted his focus this winter, moving from the heptathlon and decathlon to individual events to prioritize personal motivation. “What I took from that is really focusing on what makes you happy and knowing your why as to why you’re competing, why you’re spending half of your week dedicated to this one thing,” McKibben explained. “It’s really important to know why you’re doing it and if you’re doing it for the wrong reason, you’ve got to shift, you’ve got to change something.”
Head coach Stargell Williams remains optimistic about the team's prospects. “I think we have a good shot,” he said. “We have guys ranked in every event area from sprints, jumps, hurdles, ball, so we’re covering all the event areas, distance–wise as well. So I think if we can have a whole team camaraderie, we’ll be in a good spot. But our goal is not to focus just on the main goal; it’s to focus on the process and that’s just training and trying to get better.”
Emerging talents include first-year Anik Vossschulte, a dual-sport athlete from the football team, who has quickly posted strong times. Fellow athletes note his solid work ethic and rapid improvement. Sophomore thrower Luke Ellor, the 2025 outdoor Liberty League shot put champion, recently threw 15.67 meters, nearing his personal record. Williams highlighted Ellor's conference-leading status and the support from incoming freshmen in throws.
The outdoor season introduces weather variability, unlike the controlled indoor environment, but it represents the team's peak performance period. McKibben described it as “probably the most exciting part of the year because that’s what we work toward as a team.” The Bombers open their outdoor schedule at the Bridgewater Invitational on March 27 at 1 p.m. in Bridgewater, Virginia, followed by their home debut on April 21 at 2 p.m. on the new complex.