Robinson, Spera lead Hopkins track and field

After a much needed
winter break, the men's and
women's track and field
teams got back to the action
earlier this month to kick off
their winter seasons.
The men opened up
the New Year on Jan. 13th
at the NYU Gotham Cup
in New York, NY where
sophomore Andrew Carey
came in first in the un-
seeded 800 meter run with
a time of 1:59:37. Follow-
ing their New York meet,
Hopkins came back home
to the state of Maryland for
the Terrapin Invitational
on Jan. 21st. Led by fresh-
man Ryan Walsh's record
breaking high jump of 6'
4.25", besting the former
school record of 6' 2", the
Blue Jays placed 10th with
a team total of 32 points.
This past weekend,
Hopkins sophomore sen-
sation Max Robinson par-
ticipated in the Penn State
National Invitational, an
invite-only race whose
field was chosen from the
best runners in Division
I programs such as Wis-
consin and the University
of Pennsylvania. In the 17
person, 5000 meter race,
Robinson was able to hold
his own among some of the
top runners in the nation,
finishing 10th with a time
of 15:18.44.
While Robinson was
racing in Pennsylvania, the
men jumpers made their
way to the University of
Delaware for the Thomson
Invitational. As a team, the
men placed 14th with a to-
tal of 22 points. The meet
was especially memorable
for freshman pole vaulter
Paul Vozzo who jumped
14' 3.25" in the pole vault,
setting the Hopkins fresh-
man record and the fourth
highest jump in Hopkins
history. For the women, the
winter season began along-
side the men at the NYU Go-
tham Cup. Across the board,
the Hopkins women moved
up in Blue Jay history with
record setting runs.
Freshman Megan Kelly
recorded the 6th fastest time
in Hopkins history in the 500
meter dash with a run of 86.51
seconds while Junior Monika
Sullivan followed her with a
time of 86.84 seconds, good
for 7th all-time. In the 1000
meter run sophomore Deidre
Caffrey ran a 3:22.21 to put
her in 9th all-time in Hopkins
history while sophomore Sa-
mantha Brandon moved into
10th with a run of 3:27.76.
In the following week,
the Lady Jays arrived on
the campus of the Univer-
sity of Maryland for the
Terrapin Invitational and
came away with a 7th place
finish among the 18 com-
peting schools. Leading the
way was junior shot put-
ter Alana Merkow who set
the Hopkins record with
a throw of 41' 1.5", besting
the former record set in
2007 by Amarachi Onyima.
On the women's side
of the Penn State Invita-
tional, freshman Hannah
Eckstein, sophomore Holly
Clarke, and sophomore
Lara Shegoski were select-
ed to compete against the
best distance runners the
nation had to offer. Clarke
finished 13th with a time
of 17:54.26 while Shegoski
finished with a time of
18:52.44. Eckstein had a ca-
reer day, finishing 3rd with
a time of 17:19.68. Her run
shattered the freshman re-
cord in the 5000 meter run
by 15 seconds while also
being good for 3rd best
among all Division III run-
ners for 2012.
This past weekend the
Lady Jay jumpers compet-
ed in the Thomson Invite at
the University of Delaware
where the team placed 17th
in the 22 team field. Junior
Kristin Spera led Hopkins
with a season best long
jump for her and among all
of Division III competitors
at the event, leaping 15'
10". Along with Spera, ju-
nior Emily Kashka had an
impressive showing with a
4th place finish in the pole
vault, followed by class-
mate Tracey Vill who had a
10th place finish.
After two weeks of see-
ing the Hopkins Track and
Field team split up among
various events, the entire
team will compete recon-
vene to compete in the New
Balance Invitational this
weekend, February 3-4.

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