Men's Track faces stiff competition at Invitational

The Hopkins men’s track team was in action again this weekend, participating in the Hopkins/Loyola Invite. The Jays placed third overall in track and field at the home meet with a total score of 89 points. The Invite came just a week after the Goucher Invitational, where Hopkins took top honors in many major track and field competitions, eventually finishing in the top spot 50 points ahead of the second place finishers.

“Coming in, we knew that we’d be facing stiffer competition than our last time out,” freshman Zach Shelley said. “At this point in the season, scores at individual meets are more of a barometer for how the team is doing, and with this performance the team is on track to do well in the big meets at the end of the season. The whole team was very excited for the meet, and the great turnout from the school as a whole made a perfect environment for the competition.”

Senior Andrew Barnett contributed to the Hopkins effort with another first-place finish in the men’s pole vault, vaulting 5.00 meters (16-4.75) and earning 10 points toward the University’s overall total. Freshmen Alex Kossack finished third in the pole vault with 3.96 meters (12-11.75), and senior Paul Vozzo added to the tally from sixth.

Shelley, who usually competes in sprints and hurdles, was looking forward to helping his team to victory but was not able to continue in the competition after an injury he sustained mid-event.

“I broke my collarbone after striking a hurdle and was unable to finish the competition,” Shelley said. “The team as a whole did wonderfully with a large number of wins and successful runs — the combination of hard work and excellent coaching was really on display.”

Shelley was upbeat and positive in spite of his injury, but he very much understood the gravity of what had happened.

“Unfortunately this will be the end of my competition season as I will be in a sling,” Shelley said. “But I will be able to continue my training on a stationary bike to come back strong next year. I’m very excited to help cheer on my teammates and push them.”

In the 5000 meter dash at the Invite, the Jays picked up six points as senior Andrew Ceruzzi, freshman Louis Levine and freshman Geoffrey Kazlow finished the race in sixth, seventh and eighth places, respectively.

In the 800 meter, the Jays collected two more points from junior Trevor Holmgren, who finished second with a time of 1:54:68.

“This week will be business as usual with everybody putting in a mix of hard workouts and technique work for their events,” Shelley said. “This weekend should be another stepping stone towards the goal of bringing home another conference championship in May.”