Both the Men’s and Women’s track teams competed at the Widener University Invitational in Chester, Pa. last weekend, which ultimately served as pivotal preparation for the Centennial Championships, which will be held in two weeks.
The Lady Jays were buoyed by the record-setting performances of senior Megan McDonald and sophomore Jenn Su. Su broke the Hopkins program record in the 100 m hurdles in 15.34 seconds, besting the previous mark by just a hundredth of a second.
McDonald’s performance in the 400 m also shattered the Hopkins record by a hundredth of a second. She finished in 57.06 seconds. McDonald had been the previous record-holder for Hopkins in this race and cemented her place atop the leaderboard at Widener.
The Jays also found some success in the field events. They were led in this arena by senior Rae Conklin, who fired a discus to the 37.04 mark to claim second place in that event.
Meanwhile in the 800 m. race, junior mid-distance specialist Lindsay Cheu finished in second place after posting a time of 2:16.23. Freshman Erin Brush was right on her heels, finishing in 2:19.22, which earned her sixth place. Joining the trio of Jays in the top seven finishers in this race was freshman Gina D’Addario, who came in seventh with a time of 2:19.58.
Cheu and Brush went on to race in the 4x400 meter relay with seniors Elisa Heacock and Megan DiTrolio. The relay team finished in second at Widener with a time of 4:05.09.
The Lady Jays also sent sophomore Caroline Smith to compete in the Larry Ellis Invitational at Princeton, where she would run the 1500 m race. Smith attained a personal best with a time of 4:35.97.
The women’s track team will be split between the McDaniel College Twilight Meet and Penn Relays Carnival this weekend. These are the final tune-ups before the Centennial Championships on the weekend of May 7, where the Jays will look to capture their seventh straight title.
The men’s team also had some notable finishes at Widener. Junior Jesse Poore was the meet’s fastest competitor in the 400 m race, finishing in a blistering 50.27 seconds. Sophomore Zach Shelley and junior Daniel Camous finished the same race in 50.55 and 50.60 seconds, respectively, good enough to put three Jays on the leaderboard.
Freshman Grant Mosser completed the 400 m hurdle course in 56.70 seconds, the fastest time of any Jay and good enough for third place in the event.
Sophomore Alex Kossak jumped an impressive best of 4.20 meters in the pole vault.
Freshman Dominic Yared and senior Sam Gottuso finished the 800 m race in 1:54.84 and 1:56.96, respectively. Yared finished in fifth place, while Gottuso claimed sixth.
The men’s team will also be splitting up for the McDaniel Twilight Meet and Penn Relays next weekend before the Conference Championships.
While Track & Field can often be seen as more of an individual sport than many of its springtime contemporaries, it is clear that both the Men’s and Women’s teams support each other in their respective accomplishments.
In a similar manner, when a member of the team encounters some sort of adversity, the other team members are also quick to rally around their teammate in a show of solidarity and team spirit.
This type of vested self interest can ultimately be what separates the good teams from the great ones, and this is no different in Track & Field. Athletes must have good relationships with each other both on and off the field if they hope to maximize their success. It is clear that both these teams are groups of unselfish individuals, and this collective mentality is sure to carry both the Men’s and Women’s programs to great heights this spring and every year after.
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