Rutgers track & field prepares for 2023-2024 season
The Rutgers track and field program will start its indoor season competing in the Rutgers Holiday Classic on Friday in New York. The Scarlet Knights are heading into the 2023-2024 outdoor and indoor season with high expectations.
The Daily Targum sat down with Bobby Farrell, the director of Rutgers Track and Field and Cross Country, to preview Rutgers' upcoming season.
This will be Farrell's 12th season with the track and field program and his fifth season serving as director. Farrell became director of the track and field program when the men's and women's programs merged in 2019. The Knights have had 14 Big Ten Champions, six first-team All-Americans and 11 second-team All-Americans throughout Farrell's tenure.
Farrell has high expectations for the program this season and believes that this is the year that many of the pieces will start to fall into place.
"We have the most talented team we ever had … and we've been building that talent for a while," Farrell said. "Around 80 percent of this team now is in their first or second year here … it's exciting."
Farrell also attributed this season's excitement and increased expectations to the coaching staff and uptick in recruiting.
"From a recruiting standpoint, we brought in some great assistant coaches, and we needed to really get out there and start to bring in New Jersey's best," Farrell said. "We had done that to a successful level for the last couple years, but we kind of really moved it another notch the last two classes."
Farrell and the coaching staff brought in 22 newcomers to the men's team and 21 newcomers to the women's team before the season. Overall, 36 freshmen are joining the program, a group of athletes Farrell has nothing but praise for.
"They're bringing in a different level of hunger. A lot of them have the potential to come in and win immediately," Farrell said.
Rutgers also has veteran experience, as it will have 13 graduate students and 20 seniors on its roster.
"It's a great group that are great leaders (and) that are ready to really finish out on top," Farrell said.
Among that group is graduate student jumper A'nan Bridgett, who has had multiple successful seasons with the Knights. Bridgett put together his finest season last year, becoming a first-team All-American in the long jump event. Bridgett also holds the school indoor record in the 60-meter dash.
Though Farrell has a large roster, he still makes it a point to emphasize team unity and communication.
"I really wanted to make sure we knew each other," Farrell said. "(We have) team-oriented things where the goal is to make sure every kid on the team has had an opportunity to meet, talk and discuss — (to) get to know every other kid on the team."
Farrell also coaches both sprints and hurdles for Rutgers and is 1 of the 7 coaches who instruct a specific event in the program. Farrell is a hands-on coach, preferring to stay involved with the program instead of managing from a distance.
"I try to make my way to help everybody, just so that I don’t feel like a distant figurehead," Farrell said. "I just want to make sure they know the director is their coach, and I can help them."
Farrell also makes sure to have a personal connection with the students.
"I've been meeting with every kid on the team … at least twice a semester, just to get an opportunity to get to know each one of them better," Farrell said.
Farrell's main goal for the program this season is to make sure it finishes in the top six in the Big Ten for both the indoor and outdoor seasons. He also spoke on how individual success is crucial for a successful season.
The Knights' indoor season starts on Friday and will go until March 9, 2024 — the last day of the NCAA championships. Rutgers' outdoor season starts on March 15, 2024, and goes until June 8 of the same year.
"Last year, we had some of the most champs in the Big Ten in indoor ... Outdoor, we didn't have as many champs, but we had one of the top five amount of people on the podium," Farrell said. "So, we were in the mix both times in these categories, whether they were on the podium or whether they won, but we had to kind of put that together."
For more updates on the Rutgers track & field team, follow @TargumSports on X.
