The Hopkins track and field team split up this past weekend, with half the team heading to the Dickinson Invitational in Carlisle, Penn., and the other half flying up to compete in Boston University's Valentine Invitational.
At the Dickinson Invitational, the men's team placed third behind Messiah and Dickinson. Sophomore Pierre Hage competed well, taking sixth place in the 400m with a time of 53.55. Freshman Jacob Kramer continued his strong season with a fourth place finish in the 55m hurdles in 8.20 seconds. They were complemented by a strong field performance from Senior Adam Waddell in the pole vault (4.41 meters) for third place.
The women's team took fifth place behind Messiah, Dickinson, Bridgewater and Bryn Mawr. The women were led by Mira Patel, who took first in the mile, and freshman Allison Smith, who placed in the top five in both the 55m and 200m dashes. Patel led the race from the start and held on for the win against a strong pack of runners. Smith, who played soccer for Hopkins this past fall, continues to make a name for herself in track, running a 7.61 to place herself among the best in the Conference. Head Coach Bobby Van Allen wanted to use this meet to keep the runners in competition mode and ready for Conferences: "This meet for us was just to get some tune-up work in, and we were without many of our top runners who were competing in Boston."
Up in Boston, the team continued to break records. The meet took place at the University of Boston, a fast track that the runners took full advantage of. "Racing in Boston is always an exciting experience. With an excellent surface and high curves, every race there gives you an opportunity to break out great times. Obviously several of the people who made the trip dropped fantastic times," said captain David Sigmon.
Junior Laura Paulsen set the Centennial Conference record with a time of 4:55.02 in the mile. Senior Rachel Hogen ran a personal best in the mile, crossing the line in 4:58.85. This performance places her fifth in nation behind Paulsen, who is currently ranked first. "I was able to run a pretty evenly split race and had some good competition to push me. I think improving my time in the 1200 also really helped my mile. Running a good 1200 in New York two weeks ago really convinced me that I could go faster in the mile," she said.
"They are running with confidence now, which is such a key component to success in this sport . . . Rachel is the prime example of what one can achieve when they fully dedicate themselves to their goals," Van Allen said about his milers.
Despite being sick, senior Paula Osborn ran an impressive race in the 200 meter with a time of 26.47, breaking the school record.
When asked about how her race felt, Osborn replied, "I had a sinus infection and the flu so I did not feel so hot during my races, but I tried not to think about that and focus on how lucky I was to be running on such a fast track. It worked!"
More records were broken as the weekend progressed. Senior Jordan Ireton broke the school record in the 800m with a 2:17.15, missing the NCAA provisional mark for nationals by a single second. Ireton currently holds the school record for the 400 meter and 1000 meter.
"[She] is going to go down as not just one of the best runners in the history of our program, but certainly as one of the most gutsy and competitive athletes I have ever coached," Van Allen said.
Senior Emma Hiza dropped over 25 seconds in her 5k race from her personal best and moved up to second on the Hopkins all-time top 10 list with an 18:06.
The women's distance medley relay also competed, but this team looked much different than the one that had held its own against some of the best schools in the country last weekend. Paulsen ran the 1200 meter leg followed by Osborn in the 400 meter leg and Hogen in the half mile. Freshman Cecilia Furlong took the anchor leg, finishing with an impressive personal best of 5:11.8.
The men also had a strong showing. Junior David Sigmon ran an 8:51 in the 3k, his best race of the season. Sigmon is in reach of the school record of 8:46.
Sophomore Elliot Wehner ran strong in the 800m and remains the top-ranked 400m runner in the Conference. Junior Dan Pike ran a personal best by 20 seconds in the 5000m, running under 5 minute pace and crossing the line in 15:32.
The team returned home at the end of the weekend with a lot to be proud of. The excitement was shared by everyone on the team, all of whom dress on inspiration from both their own performances and those of their fellow teammates.
"The team did so fantastic this weekend! All our hard work is really paying off. In Boston, every girl who ran ran a PR and we had 3 national qualifying times (2 in the mile and our B team DMR) and three school records broken. I can say with confidence that the team is right where we need to be to succeed in our goal of winning conferences," says Osborn.
The Blue Jays are looking to maintain their momentum as they enter into championship season. With the Conference Championship coming up in less than two weeks, the team is working harder than ever to ensure a victory.
With strong performances on the men's side this past weekend, the guys look to have a strong showing in the next meet as well
The women's team has its eye on its first ever Conference title, and will be going after Haverford College, the defending Champions. In order to do this, Van Allen believes that the best approach is a strong attack from both the track and the field.
"We need a well balanced attack at this. We need to score in every event, and score big in those events that are our strengths. It might be a freshman that steps up for an 8th place finish in an event that is the difference between us being conference champions or the runner-ups," says Van Allen.
The track team competes at the Keough Invitational this Friday at Haverford College.
