Andrea Vicic is a junior this season, yet this will be her first year being able to compete in outdoor track. Though she has ran for three entire indoor seasons with the Bengals, nagging injuries have kept her away from running with her team in the sunshine of outdoor track.
At the Northridge Multis held at California State University, Northridge on March 14-15, Vicic finished eighth in the heptathlon in her first outdoor collegiate track meet with Idaho State. She placed second in the shot put with a throw of 35’4”, a personal best. She placed third in the 800m with a time of 2:21.61. This qualified her for the Big Sky Championships in the heptathlon later in May.
For Vicic, from South Surrey, BC, Canada, being able to run in outdoor track has been a long time coming. Her freshman year she had a stress fracture in her left tibia and the following year she had a stress fracture in her left foot. Both injuries were sustained prior to the outdoor seasons and held her out.
“It definitely has been pretty tough, especially with stress fractures,” she said. “They are injuries that don’t make you feel like you can’t compete, it just hurts a lot.”
Vicic is grateful for Idaho State track and field head coach Dave Nielsen and the late coach Jackie Poulson for sticking by her as she recovered from those injuries.
“I am so blessed to have coaches like Dave and Jackie who have kept me even though I had not gotten to the outdoor season. There were definitely frustrations, because they wanted me to do well just like I want to do well. They were understanding, considering the situation. I am really grateful that I am still here.”
Now healthy and competing, she recalled all the little details that she has missed about running in outdoor track and field.
“It has been so much fun,” Vicic beamed. “Running on a 400m track and jumping off of rubber is just the track that I remember doing. In the outdoor season I get to pick up the javelin, which is one of the better things I do in the heptathlon.”
Heptathlon events include runs of 100, 200 and 800-meters, the high jump and long jump and throws with the shot put and javelin. For indoor seasons, the women run the pentathlon, which excludes the javelin and 200-meter run.
In this year’s Big Sky Indoor Track Championships, Vicic finished fifth in the heptathlon. Now being able to compete in the outdoor season, she is looking to improve in all events and make an impact for the Bengals. Her focus is jumping events, which have been previously hampered with the stress fractures in her leg.
“I really want to improve my jumping,” she said, “because it has been difficult getting back into it with the injuries I have had. I also want to break the habits I have developed in certain things. In the end, I just want to be there for my team and do the best I can.”
Vicic was provincial champion (British Columbia) and a youth national champion in Canada her senior year in the heptathlon. She chose to attend Idaho State because of the opportunities before her to continue to compete in multi-events.
“I came on my visit here and really liked that I would be able to keep running in multi-events,” she said. “(ISU) has one of the largest groups of heptathletes and pentathletes that I could train with, so I liked that.”
Medical hardships have been granted to Vicic because of her injuries, which she hopes will let her compete in later outdoor seasons in her career.
Vicic is majoring in business and will be looking to get her MBA afterwards. She chose business to leave her a wide range of options to explore for a career later in life.
“The whole world revolves around business,” she joked. “So anything that I will want to do will have that aspect.”
On April 5 and 6, Vicic and the Bengals competed in the All-Idaho Cup at Boise State. On April 10, Idaho State will host the Bengal Hep/Decathlon Meet.