INSIDE
TRACK & FIELD
BY AJ HARRISON
@BADGER_TRACK
SCHEDULE
LAST WEEK
Jan. 18
vs. Missouri (M) W, 86-61
Jan. 18
vs. Missouri (W) W, 80-72
COMING UP
Friday
Wis. Elite Invite
Saturday Wis. Elite Invite
Back for the Badgers:
Cato returns after injury
All-American looks for strong senior season
fter nine months of recovering and waiting to
get back on the track,
senior Japheth Cato made a
statement in his first meet
after rupturing his Achilles
tendon last April by winning
the high jump and pole vault
to propel Wisconsin to a dual
meet win against Missouri last
Saturday at the Camp Randall
Memorial Sports Center.
A
58
//
VARSITY January 23, 2014
A three-time Big Ten heptathlon champion, Cato was
thrilled to return to action for
the Cardinal and White.
"It felt pretty good," Cato
said. "I didn't think I was quite
ready to do the things that I
did last weekend. It felt good,
as my teammates and coaches
were behind me supporting
me the whole way."
After his injury on a routine
5 p.m.
12 p.m.
approach in the pole vault at the Brutus Hamilton Invitational, Cato spent
months working his way back for Wisconsin, which he admitted was grueling.
But Cato feels like now he is approaching
his form from last year, when he was the
runner-up in the heptathlon at the NCAA
championships for the second-straight
year.
"I'm getting there," Cato said. "I feel it
slowly coming back. Every day is a step
in the right direction. Every day and every practice I'm getting better and my
coaches are telling me that that looks
like the Cato from last year."
Cato is also excited about how the
men's squad is looking this year and believes the Badgers can make a run at the
national indoor meet.
"We definitely have a good chance,"
Cato said. "Last year we got third. Everyone has something different and very
special to bring to the table. You can't
win a national title with only sprinters,
or jumpers or throwers. We have a good
mix of everyone."
UW HOSTS THIRD HOME MEET
● After two home meets last weekend,
the Badgers will host the Wisconsin
Elite Invitational this weekend. Wisconsin will face competitors from DePaul, Indiana State, Northern Illinois,
Marquette and Milwaukee. The discus
takes place Friday at 5 p.m. in the McClain Center, while field events start
Saturday at noon in The Shell.
