Track and field prepares for three big upcoming meets
It was a weekend of battling the elements for the Saint Joseph’s University men’s and women’s track teams. Both competed in the Widener Invitational and the Larry Ellis Invitational held at Princeton University on April 21 and 22. Poor weather conditions made it difficult for runners to compete at their best level.
“This weekend was tough, because the weather was not cooperating for fast times,” remarked women’s Head Coach Melody O’Reilly. “However, we did have some good performances within the team.”
At the Widener Invitational, the women’s 4×400 meter relay took first place overall, with freshman Karley Hess, freshman Tamar Bourdeau, senior Ashley Gerald and junior Alex Edger running.
Sophomore Lucy Harmon earned the bronze in the 1500 meter run, where she was in a field of 93 competitors and classmate Erin McGuire also received third place in the 10,000 meter run. Another sophomore, Bridget McNierney, raced her way to a fourth place finish in the 400 meter hurdles.
About an hour later, more Hawks competed in Princeton. The Larry Ellis Invitational held three ECAC qualifying performances for the women’s team. Junior Claudine Andre took the silver in the high jump, senior Dannah Hayward earned fourth in the 400 meter hurdles and the women’s 4×100 relay placed fifth to earn spots at the ECAC’s at the end of the season.
“It’s a huge goal for everyone to achieve ECAC qualification,” O’Reilly said. “It’s great for the team, and it keeps letting them know that they’re ready to run well.”
The 4×100 relay aforementioned consisted of freshman Aliyah Stokes, freshman Caroline Duffy, sophomore Kelly Liebl and sophomore Nathaniela Bourdeau, who missed the school record in this event by tenths of a second.
The men’s team had success as well, bringing home four wins and seven IC4A qualifiers from the weekend. Head Coach Mike Glavin places a lot of importance on these qualifying times.
“As far as getting those qualifiers, that’s the benchmark we use as far as extending your season in championships,” Glavin said.
Senior Torey Doaty, who has already qualified for the IC4A’s, led the way for the Hawks, earning second place in the 400 meter hurdles and anchoring the winning 4×400 meter relay. Junior David Henderson, senior Eddison Gulama and junior Barren McCoy joined Doaty in the IC4A qualifying relay.
St. Joe’s success spread to Widener, where freshman Zach Michon struck gold in the 1500 meter, sophomore Shawn Hutchinson was first in the 10,000 meter and sophomore Tommy Higley claimed the title in the 3000 meter. Michon earned a season best time while competing against 104 other runners.
“He [Michon] had to take the lead earlier than what he might’ve wanted,” Glavin said. “He had to worry about pace and leading, but he held off everyone who wanted to kick him out and won it.”
Sophomore Alec Arena placed second in the high jump, earning a personal record of 1.90 meters, and freshman Josh Clark took fourth place in his first 5,000 meter race.
The next challenge for the men’s and women’s squads proves to be a great one, as they look to compete in the Penn Relays April 27-29. The Penn Relays are a longstanding tradition of the sport that began in 1895 at the University of Pennsylvania. This meet boasts some of the best competition in the United States, featuring colleges from coast to coast and from almost all conferences.
The Penn Relays will take place just a week before the Hawks hope to impress at the A-10 championships on May 5-7.
“Competition is always pretty stiff,” Glavin said. “However, the Penn Relays are more for fun and bragging rights, while the A-10 championship are where you get to claim whether you’re a conference champion or not.”
The Hawks will put their seasons to the final test at the ECAC’s and IC4A’s on May 12-14 at Princeton University, where some athletes will hope to extend their seasons even further into the NCAA top 48 in the East.
