The extra year of eligibility offered by the NCAA to spring sports athletes has brought up some logistical concerns. For some student-athletes, the decision to return for another year is an easy one. For others, it would not make sense to return, due to impending graduation and accepted jobs. Central Track and Field head coach Brandon Sturman says that none of his seniors will be returning, but a conversation will certainly be had among the underclassmen.

“For us, I know for a fact that none of our seniors will be coming back. It definitely hurts us that we don’t have grad school. So if they wanted to use that season, they’d have to modify their schedule, and at this point it’s not worth it. I do think we plan on having a conversation with our underclassmen at some point and seeing if any of them want to use that season, and hopefully they will. If they do decide to, I think it would benefit us tremendously. We’re a young team, so to get those kids back for another year, and with some of the kids we’re bringing in this year and hopefully in the future, I think we could be even stronger because of that.”

The Dutch will say goodbye to 13 seniors between the men’s and women’s teams. All four national indoor meet qualifiers will return to the team next year.